Orange County's Latest Coronavirus Update: Mask-Up Indoors Until After New Year's Eve 2022

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — One day before California Gov. Gavin Newsom's mask mandate goes back into play, Orange County's COVID-19 hospitalizations remained relatively stable.

Starting Wednesday, California and Orange County residents—whether vaccinated or unvaccinated—will again need to wear masks in area shops, restaurants and malls for at least four weeks, according to the Governor's office.

According to OC Health Care Dr. Clayton Chau, the indoor masking requirement will go into effect beginning December 15, 2021, and the State will make further recommendations after January 15.

"As expected, we are beginning to experience a rise in cases, not only here in Orange County but statewide and nationwide, due to increased holiday gatherings and travel," Chau said. "We support the State’s latest measures intended to bring additional protection to us all and our loved ones. As I mentioned before, we have all the tools available to fight the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, through vaccination, testing and prevention measures including masking."

A brief look at revised Indoor Masking, Testing for Mega Events and Testing for Travel:

• Universal Indoor Masking: Masks are required to be worn in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccine status, between December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022
• Testing for Mega Events: Individuals attending Mega Events (indoor crowds of 1,000 or more, or outdoor crowds of 10,000 or more) must provide proof of vaccination, a negative antigen test within one day of the event, or a negative PCR test within two days prior to entry into the event, facility or venue
• Travel Advisory: All travelers arriving in and returning to California from other states or countries are recommended to test for COVID-19 3-5 days after arrival, regardless of vaccination status

Mask wearing is not required outdoors, Chau says.

Why Initiate Another Mask Mandate?

According to Chau, between December 8 and December 13, the seven-day average COVID-19 case rate increased from 7.7 to 9.9 per 100,000 people and the average number of daily COVID-19 cases increased from 250 to 322.

There was a slight drop in the positivity rate from 3.4 to 3.2 percent and hospitalizations from 196 to 194, while ICU admissions increased slightly from 59 to 63 per day.

The new statewide masking measure brings an added layer of protection against the fast-spreading Delta and Omicron variants of coronavirus.

Coronavirus cases have increased by nearly 50 percent since Thanksgiving and have raised "concerns" within the medical community, according to the state health department.

The state department of public health says that the masking-up "has proven to decrease the rate of infections" and "slow community transmission." Masking in schools has allowed all schools to remain open, they say, and there is no risk of the state shutting down if people wear their masks.

According to the state, the following individuals are exempt from wearing masks at all times:

• Persons younger than two years old. Very young children must not wear a mask because of the risk of suffocation.
• Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a mask could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a mask without assistance.
• Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
• Persons for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

Tuesday's Orange County Coronavirus Update: By The Numbers:

On Tuesday, Orange County Health Care Agency reported that six more residents have died as a result of coronavirus.

The county has logged 199 new coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative count to 317,752 since the pandemic began.

The newly logged fatalities increase the overall death toll to 5,829.

Hospitalizations dropped to 194 with the number of patients in intensive care falling to 63.

The county has 22% of its ICU beds available and 69% of its ventilators. Of those hospitalized, 87% are unvaccinated and 89% in ICU are unvaccinated.

Coronavirus Fatalities In Orange County: The Deadliest Months Behind Us?

Five of the fatalities logged Monday occurred in November, raising that month's death toll to 85.

Three were in September and one was in August.

The death toll for October stands at 125, 195 for September and 180 for August.
In contrast, the death toll before the more contagious Delta variant-fueled summer surge was 31 in July, 19 for June, 26 for May, 46 for April, 200 for March and 617 for February.

January 2021 remains the deadliest month of the pandemic with a death toll of 1,594, ahead of December 2020, the next deadliest at 985.

The increasing case counts "indicates we're heading into a surge," Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong said Friday.

The county's deputy health officer added that testing of wastewater indicates the newer, more contagious Omicron variant was likely circulating in California prior to Thanksgiving.

"Delta still remains the single most sequenced strain that is causing all of our hospitalizations," Chinsio-Kwong noted. "That should encourage more people to get vaccinated."

Hospital officials already "have to brace themselves for a very busy season," whether Omicron overcomes Delta or not.
"At a minimum, we may see the same rise of hospitalizations we saw in August or September, which peaked at 592 patients Aug. 26. That's dwarfed by 2,259 patients on Jan. 7, just as vaccines were being rolled out for health care workers.

"We're hoping we can avert that, but it does require everyone to be more cautious and to wear a mask indoors," Chinsio-Kwong said. "Everybody needs to take their risk factors into account. We are strongly encouraging everyone who is eligible to get a booster vaccine."

The case rate per 100,000 residents is at 6.4. The test positivity rate is at 3.3 as of Tuesday.

"There's a bump we're seeing, and a corresponding bump in hospitalizations," since Thanksgiving, Kim said. "Hopefully, it doesn't get much worse than this and it is fairly mild."

City News Service contributed to this report.