Orange County's Coronavirus Update: 253 Cases, 2 Deaths

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — After a one day reprieve from coronavirus related fatalities, Orange County reported two more residents succumbed to the virus, Tuesday. There were also 253 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, raising the cumulative total to 38,066 cases and 653 fatalities since the pandemic began.

The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in county hospitals dropped from 555 Monday to 539. Following the declining trend, the number of patients in intensive care dipped from 175 to 167, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Only four deaths have been reported since Sunday, the lowest total in many weeks of tracking epidemiological data. The county logged 87 coronavirus deaths last week and 70 the week prior.

Orange County Care Agency is focusing on the ages of those who have died due to the virus. The hardest hit have been skilled nursing facility residents, with 271 residents having died as a result of the outbreak, and 28 more died while housed in assisted care facilities. One person who died of coronavirus was homeless.

Of the over 38,000 who have tested positive for the virus, 1,707 were skilled nursing facility residents, 476 were jail inmates and 137 were homeless.

The county has reported 65 jail inmates in medical isolation and 416 documented recoveries among 481 prisoners infected since the pandemic began. Officials are awaiting results of 94 tests.
Orange County is on the state's watch list for counties experiencing high rates of new cases and hospitalizations. It has shown some improvement of late.

Who Has Coronavirus In Orange County?

The tally of positive coronavirus cases in Orange County, as released by OC Health Care Agency on Tuesday.

• Aliso Viejo - 276 Total Cases
• Anaheim - 6521 Total Cases
• Brea - 352 Total Cases
• Buena Park - 1053 Total Cases
• Costa Mesa - 1246 Total Cases
• Coto de Caza - 27 Total Cases
• Cypress - 421 Total Cases
• Dana Point - 186 Total Cases
• Fountain Valley - 370 Total Cases
• Fullerton - 1727 Total Cases
• Garden Grove - 2032 Total Cases
• Huntington Beach - 1728 Total Cases
• Irvine - 1198 Total Cases
• La Habra - 918 Total Cases
• La Palma - 119 Total Cases
• Ladera Ranch - 120 Total Cases
• Laguna Beach - 136 Total Cases
• Laguna Hills - 224 Total Cases
• Laguna Niguel - 290 Total Cases
• Laguna Woods - 42 Total Cases
• Lake Forest - 616 Total Cases
• Los Alamitos - 153 Total Cases
• Midway City - 76 Total Cases
• Mission Viejo - 589 Total Cases
• Newport Beach - 896 Total Cases
• Orange - 1744 Total Cases
• Placentia - 682 Total Cases
• Rancho Mission Viejo - 46 Total Cases
• Rancho Santa Margarita - 249 Total Cases
• Rossmoor - 29 Total Cases
• San Clemente - 331 Total Cases
• San Juan Capistrano - 282 Total Cases
• Santa Ana - 7288 Total Cases
• Seal Beach - 218 Total Cases
• Silverado - 39 Total Cases
• Stanton - 458 Total Cases
• Trabuco Canyon - 152 Total Cases
• Tustin - 890 Total Cases
• Villa Park - 41 Total Cases
• Westminster - 687 Total Cases
• Yorba Linda - 503 Total Cases

Focused on Recovery

The county's case rate per 100,000 residents decreased from 125.1 Monday to 115. That number is still 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 slightly from 8.9 percent to 8.6 percent, still hovering above the state's desired rate of 8 percent.

The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -8.6 percent to -4.8 percent, much lower than the state's threshold of 10 percent increase.

In Orange County, available ICU beds were at 34 percent, and the percentage of available ventilators at 54 percent. The state's threshold is 20 percent of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25 percent ventilators on hand.

The county reported that 439,682 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with 3,755 reported Tuesday. There have been 26,234 documented recoveries.

Schools Set To Reopen, Players Long To Take The Field

As local school officials prepare for classes to begin again, county officials are tabulating the number of coronavirus cases by various age groups.

Since the pandemic began, no children under 17 have died as a result of coronavirus in Orange county. The ages of the children who have been infected in Orange County are as follows, as of Tuesday:

• 364 children up to age 3
• 460 in the 4- to 9-year-old age group
• 362 from 10 to 12 years old
• 341 among 13- to 14-year-olds
• 1,250 in the 15- to 18-year-old age group

The state has released updated guidance for youth sports activities, allowing activities to resume, but with participants adhering to physical distancing and safety protocols. Participants must stay six feet from each other and activities must take place outdoors as much as possible.

Tournaments, events and games indoors that require close contact among participants are not allowed until the state reaches the next phase of reopening.

City News Service contributed, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.

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