The Orange County Health Care Agency reported on Thursday, June 25, another seven deaths, raising the total in the county since the start of tracking the coronavirus to 306.
Of those who have died, 157 were residents of skilled nursing facilities, up from 152 in Tuesday’s daily report.
There were 506 new cases of coronavirus, but officials said that number was playing catch up for delays from 28 different testing dates.
“Skilled nursing facilities continue to be a concern and source of additional cases and deaths, however, they are not responsible for the recent increases,” a spokeswoman said, adding cases in the facilities “have been trending down as a proportion of cases. With businesses reopening and relaxation of the state’s stay-at-home order, it is not surprising that cases would increase.”
Also, Wednesday’s daily update reported 26 deaths, but officials noted that “doesn’t necessarily represent a surge in deaths, but it represents deaths from many different days in recent weeks.”
“There is a delay in identification and confirmation of deaths” and the large number that day was the “result of a concentrated effort to reconcile death certificates with reported cases.”
Officials also emphasized “social distancing, hand washing, self-monitoring for symptoms, staying home when ill, wearing face coverings when unable to socially distance” are important as the county reopens further.
As of Thursday’s update, the county reported 11,511 confirmed cases of the virus since testing began. There have been 2,290 new cases in the last seven days. Some of the cases were in a state testing backlog and could be from many days ago.
The seven-day average for daily cases reported is 327, up from 274 in the previous report.
The county has also started releasing an estimate for the number of recoveries from the virus, which was 5,326 as of Thursday. The recoveries are based on the prior 28-day cumulative case count.
According to the California Department of Health, there have been 101 deaths in Orange County in the last 14 days.
The state agency reports 543 hospitalized patients in the last 14 days (suspected and positive) in 33 hospitals across the county as of June 24. The state’s coronavirus-tracking dashboard also shows Orange County has at least 38% of its ICU beds still available.
The OCHCA’s latest data, which is as of June 23, included 394 hospitalizations and 147 people in ICUs. The Orange County data represents the 26 hospitals with emergency receiving centers and licensed ICU beds.
The cumulative countywide testing total rose to 231,902, with data through June 23. The seven-day average trend for daily tests performed is 3,614. Total testing results take several days to compile.
The California Department of Health reported that the positive test rate for Orange County has been 5.4% in the last 14 days, out of 66,944 tests. The report also noted that Orange County has had 3,582 new cases in the last 14 days. In the same time period, Los Angeles County has had 22,548 new cases and Riverside County has had 5,089 new cases.
The county data shows 17% of the total cases are those 65 and older, the same age group represents 75% of the deaths.
The county’s breakdown of deaths by age is as follows:
- 85 and older: 31% (94)
- 75-84: 26% (81)
- 65-74: 18% (53)
- 55-64: 13% (39)
- 45-54: 9% (28)
- 35-44: 2% (8)
- 25-34: 1% (3)
- 24 and younger: 0%
NOTE: The first map shows the total cases in Orange County, the second map shows how many cases from May 24-June 24.
Data posted each day is preliminary and subject to change, officials emphasize. More information may become available as individual case investigations are completed.
Old shade of map, changed June 3:
Orange County hospitalizations as of June 23:
Orange County tests as of June 24:
Orange County tests as of June 23:
Orange County testing totals as of June 22:
Source: Orange County Register
Be First to Comment