Halloween Poses Threat To Reaching Orange Tier In OC, Doctors Say

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Orange County health officials Friday reported 10 coronavirus-related fatalities, hiking the death toll over 1,400, and 151 new diagnoses of COVID-19.

The county's death toll stands at 1,401 and the cumulative case count is 56,587.

The county has reported an uptick in deaths, with 61 residents dying as a result of coronavirus since Sunday.

Last week, 54 coronavirus deaths were reported, down from 72 the week before and 77 the week before that.

Again, the deaths reported Friday have occurred over the past several weeks, according to OC Health Care. The death confirmations come from multiple sources such as hospitals, so the reporting of them are staggered.

"The number doesn't mean we have 31 dead since yesterday," said Dr. Clayton Chau, the director of the Orange County Health Care Agency and the county's chief health officer, referring to the death reports issued Thursday. Some of the deaths date as far back as June, Chau said.

"I don't know how or why that happens, but there is a delay in reporting deaths," he told reporters at an afternoon briefing.

Of the deaths reported Friday, seven were skilled nursing facility residents and two resided in assisted living facilities.
The last time the county reported double-digit deaths that occurred within a 24-hour period was Sept. 15, when 10 people died. The highest number of deaths announced in one day was 33 on Sept. 29, but those fatalities actually occurred over the course of several weeks.

Since the pandemic began, 520 of the county's fatalities involved skilled nursing facility residents and 110 resided in assisted living facilities.

Orange County CEO Frank Kim said the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider increasing spending on efforts to help improve safety at skilled nursing facilities.

County officials plan to use CARES Act funding to provide more personal protective equipment, staffing and other needs to skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, Chau said. Some resources also will be directed toward community clinics to help reach out to residents with chronic health conditions, he said.

Kim said Wednesday's new diagnoses, which topped 200, was a concerning sign, as officials want to keep new cases under that mark. Kim said both metrics were "too high in case count and deaths."

Officials are aiming for a weekly average of 130 daily, which would vault the county from the second-most restrictive red tier to the orange tier of the state's four-tier economic-reopening roadmap. The county has to remain under 225 to stay within the red tier, Kim said.

At a media briefing Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said nine inmates have COVID-19; six of them newly booked and three who were transferred from one lockup to another. The height of the pandemic in the jail system was reached five months ago, when 220 inmates were infected, Barnes said.

The positivity rate, which is reported each Tuesday, inched up from 3.2% last week to 3.5%, but the daily case rate per 100,000 people declined from 5.2 to 4.6, moving the county closer to an upgrade from the red to the orange tier.

County officials throughout the state are working with the governor's office and the state Department of Public Health to see if there's some flexibility that could be allowed when counties are close to moving up a tier, Kim said.

Under the state's previous reopening system, hospital capacity was a key metric, but that data is no longer considered in the new tier system, he said.

"If we can show we have good capacity to contact-trace and the hospitals have good capacity to handle any surges and testing remains below capacity, then could the state give us additional flexibility to get into a less-restrictive tier?" Kim asked.

Hospitalizations climbed from 164 Thursday to 170 on Friday, while the number of intensive care unit patients remained at 66.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -2.2% to 1.6%. The county has 36% of its intensive care unit beds and 68% of its ventilators available.
To qualify for the orange tier, the positivity rate must be 2% to 4%, and the case rate per 100,000 must be 1 to 3.9.

Chau told reporters on Thursday that the county's positivity rate has "consistently been in the range of the orange tier for more than a month." But the case rate per 100,000 has kept the county within the red tier.

With the holiday season advancing, Chau warned people to avoid extended family gatherings.

Halloween could prove problematic for the county, Chau says. This Halloween families are encouraged to celebrate at home or online or take part in drive-thru events that promote physical distancing.

Parents could dress up their kids in costume and do a walk around the neighborhood with their immediate family, but "personally, I say 'stay home,'" Chau advised.

Other Halloween ideas for families, both from the comfort of your own car:

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Chau noted if there is infection linked to a Halloween event, "It would be difficult to find and notify those who were exposed."

For Dia De Los Muertos, residents are encouraged to view altars online or displays that are viewable to passersby, Chau said.

"Do not mix with other households — that's really important," he said. "Parties and in-person, door-to-door trick-or-treating pose a high risk of transmitting COVID-19. This year, I would suggest parents maybe you should buy candy and give it to your own kid."

Moving to the orange tier would mean retail businesses could operate at full capacity, instead of 50% as required in the red tier. Shopping malls could also operate at full capacity, but with closed common areas and reduced food courts, just as in the red tier.

Barnes said when the county reaches the orange tier, he will move to restore visitation for inmates. The sheriff canceled visitations in March at the beginning of shutdown orders due to the rapid spread of the virus.

According to OCHCA data, 975,548 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, including 5,336 reported Friday. There have been 50,632 documented recoveries.

Chau said increased testing can lower the positivity rate, but it can also lead to an increase in the case rate per 100,000.

Across Orange County cities, here is the latest coronavirus case counts:

Aliso Viejo - 406 Total Cases

Anaheim - 9670 Total Cases

Brea - 535 Total Cases

Buena Park - 1620 Total Cases

Costa Mesa - 1927 Total Cases

Coto de Caza - 47 Total Cases

Cypress - 580 Total Cases

Dana Point - 298 Total Cases

Fountain Valley - 533 Total Cases

Fullerton - 2697 Total Cases

Garden Grove - 3115 Total Cases

Huntington Beach - 2493 Total Cases

Irvine - 1780 Total Cases

La Habra - 1523 Total Cases

La Palma - 168 Total Cases

Ladera Ranch - 184 Total Cases

Laguna Beach - 237 Total Cases

Laguna Hills - 336 Total Cases

Laguna Niguel - 474 Total Cases

Laguna Woods - 70 Total Cases

Lake Forest - 880 Total Cases

Los Alamitos - 218 Total Cases

Midway City - 125 Total Cases

Mission Viejo - 906 Total Cases

Newport Beach - 1187 Total Cases

Orange - 2605 Total Cases

Placentia - 985 Total Cases

Rancho Mission Viejo - 72 Total Cases

Rancho Santa Margarita - 368 Total Cases

Rossmoor - 67 Total Cases

San Clemente - 560 Total Cases

San Juan Capistrano - 596 Total Cases

Santa Ana - 10878 Total Cases

Seal Beach - 285 Total Cases

Silverado - 43 Total Cases

Stanton - 697 Total Cases

Trabuco Canyon - 211 Total Cases

Tustin - 1376 Total Cases

Villa Park - 56 Total Cases

Westminster - 1101 Total Cases

Yorba Linda - 789 Total Cases

The state introduced a health equity measure, which launched last Tuesday, to help counties address high case counts concentrated within certain ZIP codes that include high- density housing and language barriers, among other issues.

Orange County got a head start weeks ago with its Latino Health Equity program, which raised awareness of coronavirus within hotspots in Santa Ana and Anaheim, Chau said. Positivity rates as high as 20% have fallen to single digits in some of those neighborhoods, Chau said.

There is an "accelerator" in the state's formula, under which a county with a positivity rate that qualifies for the least-restrictive yellow tier, Chau says. Even with a case rate that's stubbornly in the red -- would be permitted to move up to orange.