Orange County reports 2,025 new cases COVID-19, 15 more dead

Santa Ana, CA — The surge in coronavirus infections in Orange County continued to reach staggering rates on Sunday. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the county has reported 2,025 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths, for a total of 86,878 and 1,633 deaths.

The number of residents in the county hospitalized with the virus increased from 842 on Saturday to 848, and the number of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit increased from 193 to 209.

The numbers came as Orange County, and the rest of Southern California was set to fall under drastic new health restrictions at 11:59 pm on Sunday due to the rapid increase in hospitalizations due to the virus.

According to the California Public Health Service, a state-mandated “stay-at-home order” was triggered when bed availability in the intensive care unit remained below 15% after a daily renewal on Saturday. ..

ICU capacity available in the Southern California region of the 11 counties was 12.5% ​​on Saturday, down from 13.1% the day before. On Sunday, it fell to 10.3%.

According to the Orange County Healthcare Agency, Orange County had access to 18% of ICU beds on Sundays.

A three-week stay-at-home order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom bans gatherings of people from different households. If the next month’s ICU capacity forecast is 15% or higher, the region is eligible to close the order on 28 December.

Don Burns of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday that his agent would not enforce the order.

“Compliance with health orders is a matter of personal responsibility, not law enforcement,” Burns said. “Orange County Sheriff’s Office keeps our approach consistent. Orange County Sheriff’s Office agents are dispatched to cover faces, social gatherings, or request services to enforce curfew compliance. Will not respond or respond. Agents Respond to potential criminal activity and calls for the protection of life and property. Our actions are consistent with the protection of constitutional rights.

“… You must be diligent to prevent the spread of the virus by following public health recommendations, such as covering your face and reducing social distance, as you have done through this pandemic. Conversely, policy makers penalize residents and enjoy their livelihoods, their protection of their mental health, or our most important freedom. “

This order will force the following business / recreation facilities to be closed:

-Indoor and outdoor playgrounds.

-Indoor recreation facility;

-Hair salon and barber shop;

-Personal care service;

-Museums, zoos, aquariums.

– Movie theater;

-Winery;

-Bars, breweries, distilleries;

-Family Entertainment Center;

-Cardroom and satellite betting;

-Limited service;

-Live Audience Sports; and

– amusement park.

Exempt schools can remain open with “critical infrastructure” and retail stores. Retail stores are limited to 20% of capacity.

The restaurant is restricted to takeaway and delivery services only. The hotel is allowed to open with “important infrastructure support only” and the church is restricted to outdoor-only service. Entertainment production, including professional sports, is allowed to continue without a live audience.

Some of these restrictions are already in effect in some counties.

Rep. Young Kim, R-La Habra, questioned Newsom’s Thursday order, which led to restrictions.

“As cases of COVID-19 continue to spread throughout our region, we must play our role in slowing the spread, but government leaders also say their actions. We must act rationally, knowing that will affect the lives, jobs and welfare of our community, “Kim tweeted Saturday. “Inconsistent policies have created confusion and uncertainty.”

California groups the county into five regions: the Bay Area, the Greater Sacramento region, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.

San Joaquin Valley will also enter a new shutdown protocol on Sunday night as the ICU capacity dropped to 8.6% on Saturday.

The state’s complete stay-at-home order can be read at www.cdph.ca.gov / Programs / CID / DCDC / Pages / COVID-19 / Regional-Stay-at-Home-Order-.aspx.

Orange County hospitals are struggling to staff in ICU beds and require advanced training for nurses to manage.

“Like many hospitals in the state, the Orange County Global Medical Center is working hard to treat the proliferation of COVID-19 patients,” said hospital CEO Derek Drake.

“We haven’t reached capacity yet, but we need additional ICU staff. Despite these challenges, our healthcare professionals are tremendous to serve patients and communities. I work and show my selflessness, talent and skills every day. “

State gradual monitoring system indicators are updated every Tuesday. The adjusted daily case rate per 100,000 people increased from 18.7 on Monday to 22.2 on Tuesday, and the positive rate increased from 7.6% to 8.8%.

The county’s health quartile positive rate, which measures cases in poor areas with high county influence, is 13%, almost three times the previous report on November 10.

Currently, all county indicators are included in the state’s most restrictive, purple four-layer coronavirus monitoring system layer.

According to Frank Kim, CEO of Orange County, the vaccine is currently distributed to counties and will be distributed to hospitals. Previously, the local hospital system planned to obtain the vaccine directly while the county was distributing the drug to individual hospitals.

The county received 18,060 test results on Sunday, a cumulative increase to 1,556,554. There were 61,886 documented collections.

— City News Service