Orange County reports 162 new COVID-19 cases, 6 deaths

Santa Ana, CA (CNS) — Friday’s Orange County reported 162 new COVID-19 cases and 6 more coronavirus-related deaths.

According to the Orange County Healthcare Agency, the county’s deaths and cumulative cases are currently 1,440 and 58,010, respectively.

Authorities reported 213 new cases on Thursday, 262 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday, and 203 on Monday.

The number of virus-related hospitalizations decreased from 168 on Thursday to 162 on Friday, and the number of patients in the intensive care unit increased from 56 to 58.

The average 3-day change in inpatients ranged from 4.3% to 1.2%. 35% of beds in the intensive care unit and 68% of ventilators are available in the county.

According to OCHCA data, 1,044,997 COVID-19 tests have been performed since the start of the pandemic, including 12,135 reported on Friday. There were 51,990 documented collections.

Since Sunday, the county has reported 31 COVID-19 deaths. Last week, the county reported 69 deaths. Last week, 54 coronavirus deaths were reported, down from 72 last week to 77 last week.

According to OCHCA, 540 of the county’s coronavirus deaths were associated with skilled nursing facility residents, and another 115 lived in livelihood support facilities. Of the deaths on Friday, five were residents of a skilled care facility and one lived in a care facility.

Of the deaths reported on Wednesday, one was in the 18-24 year old group. The person died on September 11th. The last time someone in that age group succumbed to COVID-19 was September 4, OCHCA officials said.

Dr. Matthew Zahn, medical director of the county’s infectious disease management department, said at a press conference every Thursday about the county’s response to the disease, the coronavirus is especially dangerous for people with underlying illness and the elderly. “Surely a serious illness and death in the young population.”

It should also be noted that young adults “may spread the (virus) to other people, especially those around them who are at risk.” “And they themselves are at risk. This is not the flu. The virus is still difficult and a significant risk for all ages.”

On Monday, Orange County supervisor Don Wagner asked the state to allow the reopening of youth sports competitions, and youth sports leaders went to other states with their children to attend sporting events outside of California. Raised the issue of traveling parents.

Health officials warned residents who went out of state and quarantined for two weeks, saying, “I stopped doing that … traveling alone is not risky, but at least many of them (sports) What the person is doing if he is engaged in an event … There is a reason to limit it here in Orange County … Teen clustering is a significant risk. “

Youth sports competitions make it difficult to enforce social and physical distances, Zahn said.

“The larger the group you have, the less social distance you will have, which poses a risk of clustering cases,” he said.

Zahn said the school has been open for several weeks and there will be no outbreaks of the coronavirus on campus. Even the outbreak involving dozens of students at Chapman University in Orange was not due to classroom activities, Zahn said.

Meanwhile, Orange County officials expect to stay in the red next week, the second most restrictive group, OC CEO Frank Kim said.

He said public health officials were concerned about rising nationwide case rates and predicting increased infections during the winter.

“Everyone has the same concerns. We see the same numbers,” Kim said. “I’m happy because hospital prices haven’t skyrocketed. But we’re all looking at the same thing. There’s no way for Orange County to reach the Orange layer. In purple.”

The county’s positive rate reported every Tuesday remained at 3.2%, the same as last week, and the daily case rate per 100,000 population remained at 4.6. As a result, the county is the gateway to the state’s four-tier surveillance system, moving from red to orange.

Moving to the orange layer means that retailers can run at full capacity instead of the 50% required for the red layer. Shopping centers are fully operational, but like the red tier, common areas are closed and food courts are reduced.

According to Kim, COVID-19 has increased dialogue between county leaders.

“We have to get it done together, and we understand that we are all together, so we exchange information, talk, and spend hours,” Kim said. It was.

Efforts since this summer to curb the COVID-19 epidemic at hotspots in Santa Ana and Anaheim have been positive, according to Thursday’s note from Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the Orange County Health Department and chief health officer of the county. The rate decreased by 74.4%, from an average of 22.5% on July 7 to 5.8% on October 19.

Dr. Margaret Bredehoft, Deputy Director of Public Health Services, announces a new program by the county and Orange County Department of Education to staff a team of school nurses available to parents from 8 am to 11 am on weekdays. Did. Weekend afternoon. The nurse will assist parents in preparing to quarantine infected students and provide school officials with other guidance on disinfecting classrooms and other measures to control the spread of the virus.

Bredehoft also announced a campaign to encourage the use of masks among students. Elementary to high school students are encouraged to take part in facecover contests promoting essays, videos and art to curb the spread of the coronavirus and win school technical grants.

Dr. Philip Robinson, medical director of infection prevention and hospital epidemiology at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, told City News Service that experts are anticipating another wave of coronavirus this fall. Zahn agreed that the colder the temperature, the more people would rush indoors and the virus could spread more efficiently, so there could be another wave. He said the annual flu season can exacerbate it.