OC Case Rate Rises, COVID-19 Hospitalization Declines, Wednesday

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Six more people died and 439 more tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, officials reported. The county's totals reached 35,272 cases and 587 deaths since the pandemic began.

Compared to previous weeks, death rates are declining, as is hospitalization, while the number of intensive care patients is rising, according to reports.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Orange County hospitals dropped from 640 Tuesday to 626, while the number of patients in intensive care inched up from 203 to 204, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Since Sunday, the county has reported 25 deaths. One week ago, the county reported 70 people died due to coronavirus-related deaths. Two weeks ago, 73 died as a result of the virus.

Two of the six fatalities reported Wednesday were skilled nursing facility residents.

Of the total deaths, 255 were skilled nursing facility residents, 21 lived in assisted living facilities, and one was homeless. Of the total cases, 1,564 were skilled nursing facility residents, 472 were jail inmates and 136 were homeless.

Orange County is on the state's watch list for counties experiencing high rates of new cases and hospitalizations. It has shown some improvement, but with some continuing concerns.

The county's case rate per 100,000 residents increased from 150.8 on Tuesday to 153.2, which is far higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents. The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 dropped from 11.1% to 11%, which is still higher than the state's desired rate of 8%.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -1.9% Tuesday to -4.8%, much lower than the state's threshold of 10%.

Available ICU beds decreased from 40$ to 37%, and the percentage of ventilators available increased from 58% to 65%. The state's threshold is 20% of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25% ventilators on hand.

In Orange County towns, here is the breakdown for Wednesday's coronavirus counts:

• Aliso Viejo - 267 Total Cases
• Anaheim - 6024 Total Cases
• Brea - 340 Total Cases
• Buena Park - 985 Total Cases
• Costa Mesa - 1166 Total Cases
• Coto de Caza - 24 Total Cases
• Cypress - 383 Total Cases
• Dana Point - 179 Total Cases
• Fountain Valley - 354 Total Cases
• Fullerton - 1646 Total Cases
• Garden Grove - 1886 Total Cases
• Huntington Beach - 1649 Total Cases
• Irvine - 1152 Total Cases
• La Habra - 837 Total Cases
• La Palma - 117 Total Cases
• Ladera Ranch - 115 Total Cases
• Laguna Beach - 132 Total Cases
• Laguna Hills - 216 Total Cases
• Laguna Niguel - 282 Total Cases
• Laguna Woods - 39 Total Cases
• Lake Forest - 593 Total Cases
• Los Alamitos - 147 Total Cases
• Midway City - 65 Total Cases
• Mission Viejo - 571 Total Cases
• Newport Beach - 804 Total Cases
• Orange - 1622 Total Cases
• Placentia - 641 Total Cases
• Rancho Mission Viejo - 46 Total Cases
• Rancho Santa Margarita - 243 Total Cases
• Rossmoor - 29 Total Cases
• San Clemente - 322 Total Cases
• San Juan Capistrano - 252 Total Cases
• Santa Ana - 6665 Total Cases
• Seal Beach - 211 Total Cases
• Silverado - 39 Total Cases
• Stanton - 411 Total Cases
• Trabuco Canyon - 149 Total Cases
• Tustin - 830 Total Cases
• Villa Park - 40 Total Cases
• Westminster - 650 Total Cases
• Yorba Linda - 486 Total Cases

Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the Health Care Agency and interim chief health officer, told the Board of Supervisors earlier this week that the county's positivity rate "has seen a trend of decreasing, so that's a good sign," but is still at a "concerning level."

Chau, however, said the most important statistics to keep an eye on are the number of ICU beds and availability of ventilators and, "from that perspective we're doing quite well."

He said heightened hygiene, physical distancing and the wearing of face coverings "seems to be working to slow down the spread."