Flu Shots May Help Avoid Twindemic in OC, Healthcare Agency Says

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Four more people have died from COVID-19 in Orange County, Thursday and 281 new cases were reported, county wide.

The county's overall coronavirus totals are 50,471 cases and 1,069 fatalities, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Hospitalizations in the county ticked up from 234 Wednesday to 239 Thursday, while the number of intensive care unit patients inched up from 62 to 64.

The rate of county residents testing positive for COVID-19 was at 4.2 percent on a 7-day average.

The county remains on track to get to the orange tier the county, which dictates the average must be between 2 percent and 4.9 percent.

The daily case count is still hovering higher than desired, at 5.2 per 100,000 people. To get to the next level, the county must be between 2 percent to 4.9 percent.

The OCHCA reported that 716,612 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, including 5,904 reported Thursday.

There have been 44,674 estimated recoveries since coronavirus pandemic began.

Dr. Clayton Chau, the county's chief health officer and director of the OCHCA, issued a new health order Tuesday that spells out the details of how businesses can reopen.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said the county's libraries will reopen for "a new grab-and-go service" on Sept. 22.

At the county's weekly news conference Thursday, Chau and Steel emphasized the importance of planning to get flu shots so the county can avoid the so-called "twindemic."

"I am encouraging everyone in Orange County to get a flu vaccine," Steel said.

Chau said federal officials have "ensured that we have an increased number of flu vaccines available to states." State officials are also prioritizing flu shots, Chau said.

"We are expecting several shipments at the end of September," Chau said. "Be on the lookout for flu shot events in the community throughout the five districts."

To observe social distancing, county officials will make the flu shots available on walk-up and drive-through basis, he said.

To move up to the next tier of orange, the county will have to be between 1 to 3.9 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents per day, with a positivity rate between 2 percent and 4.9 percent for two consecutive weeks at least.

Across Orange County, the current coronavirus counts per city are as follows:

Aliso Viejo - 355 Total Cases

Anaheim - 8608 Total Cases

Brea - 458 Total Cases

Buena Park - 1445 Total Cases

Costa Mesa - 1746 Total Cases

Coto de Caza - 42 Total Cases

Cypress - 515 Total Cases

Dana Point - 260 Total Cases

Fountain Valley - 482 Total Cases

Fullerton - 2283 Total Cases

Garden Grove - 2763 Total Cases

Huntington Beach - 2285 Total Cases

Irvine - 1531 Total Cases

La Habra - 1344 Total Cases

La Palma - 147 Total Cases

Ladera Ranch - 160 Total Cases

Laguna Beach - 197 Total Cases

Laguna Hills - 292 Total Cases

Laguna Niguel - 402 Total Cases

Laguna Woods - 49 Total Cases

Lake Forest - 784 Total Cases

Los Alamitos - 150 Total Cases

Midway City - 118 Total Cases

Mission Viejo - 764 Total Cases

Newport Beach - 1088 Total Cases

Orange - 2293 Total Cases

Placentia - 877 Total Cases

Rancho Mission Viejo - 61 Total Cases

Rancho Santa Margarita - 324 Total Cases

Rossmoor - 62 Total Cases

San Clemente - 466 Total Cases

San Juan Capistrano - 453 Total Cases

Santa Ana - 9672 Total Cases

Seal Beach - 264 Total Cases

Silverado - 42 Total Cases

Stanton - 622 Total Cases

Trabuco Canyon - 187 Total Cases

Tustin - 1186 Total Cases

Villa Park - 50 Total Cases

Westminster - 953 Total Cases

Yorba Linda - 655 Total Cases

Many private K-6th-grade schools that won waivers from the county and state returned to in-person instruction Tuesday. They included the Los Alamitos School District's schools as well as 27 Diocese of Orange schools. Two of the Roman Catholic schools remained in distance learning.

But even with the positive trends, the earliest Orange County's schools can reopen for personal instruction is Sept. 22.

City News Service, Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.