SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County reported 253 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and two more deaths today, 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, while the number of patients in intensive care dipped from 175 to 167, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Just four deaths have been reported since Sunday. The county logged 87 coronavirus deaths last week and 70 the week prior.
Of the county's total deaths, 271 were skilled nursing facility residents, 28 lived in assisted living facilities, and one was homeless. Of the total cases, 1,707 were skilled nursing facility residents, 476 were jail inmates, and 137 were homeless. The county has reported 57 jail inmates in medical isolation and 419 documented recoveries among prisoners.
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.
The county's case rate per 100,000 residents decreased from 125.1 Monday to 115, which 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 dipped from 8.9% to 8.6%, still above the state's desired rate of 8%.
The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -8.6% to -4.8%, much lower than the state's threshold of 10% increase. Available ICU beds were at 34%, and the percentage of available ventilators at 54%. The state's threshold is 20% of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25% 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.
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, there have been 364 children up to age 3 who have been infected in the county; 460 in the 4- to 9-year-old age group; 362 from 10-12 years old; 341 among 13- to 14-year-olds; and 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.