Orange County reported 322 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths Saturday, bringing the county’s totals to 61,743 cases and 1,506 fatalities.
The relatively high number of new cases continues to jeopardize the county’s hopes of moving into the next tier of California’s four-tier coronavirus monitoring system.
Orange County CEO Frank Kim said earlier this week that “Our numbers still look OK,” but officials have said that the daily case numbers would have to come down to about 130 for OC to be upgraded from the red to the orange tier, allowing more businesses to reopen and those that are already open to increase their capacity.
“While Orange County remains in the red tier, it is important we continue that trend so that we can eventually go downward to the next tier,” Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said at the county’s weekly news conference on its COVID-19 efforts.
“As we get closer to the holiday season, it is important … we continue to wear a face mask when in public and practice social distancing when possible,” Steel said.
The number of hospitalizations related to the virus rose from 177 Friday to 199, with the number of intensive care unit patients remaining at 72, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -0.7% to 2.2%. The county has 31% of its intensive care unit beds and 64% of its ventilators available.
According to OCHCA data, 1,168,523 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic, including 8,050 reported Saturday. There have been 54,799 documented recoveries.
All three of the deaths reported Saturday were skilled-nursing facility residents.
The county’s positivity rate, which is reported each Tuesday, but was reported Wednesday this week because of the election, rose from 3.2% to 3.6%, and the daily case rate per 100,000 population increased from 5.1 last week to 6.
The county’s Health Equity Quartile Positivity Rate, which measures a county’s response to hot spots, decreased from 6% to 5.7%. The county has to reach at least 5.2% in that metric to move into the orange tier from the red tier.
One of the peskiest issues county officials have been dealing with is the socializing among teens and young adults.
“It’s a major issue,” said Dr. Matthew Zahn, medical director of the county’s communicable disease control division.
“I think our biggest goals, our most consistent goals, is reaching out to these populations,” Zahn said.
Zahn said efforts are being made to reach out to students on campus to reinforce the importance of social and physical distancing and mask usage.
He said that often, however, on campus or at a work place, there is more mindfulness of social distancing, but not so much after class or work.
“The natural human habit is to let their guard down in social settings,” Zahn said. “And it’s the social settings where so much spread happens.”
Health officials have been warning of a potential rise in cases during the holidays as residents seek to fraternize more and stay inside more often because of the changing weather.
“There seems to be an inevitability over the next couple of months,” Zahn said. “But it’s important we don’t let our guard down.”
Zahn advised residents to just celebrate the holidays in a different way than usual “because there is a risk there” of spreading the virus with family get-togethers.
He also commented on increasing youth sports activities in which parents and children are traveling out of states for competitions. He said the traveling back and forth isn’t so much a concern, but the “crowding” that sports contests encourage “is a major driver of risk.”
When asked about a swim meet in Irvine this weekend, Zahn said he wasn’t aware of it, but was concerned the organizers had not reached out to the agency for guidance.
Officials have said the daily average of new cases would have to come down to about 130 for Orange County to make the orange tier, allowing for more businesses to reopen and for some already open to increase their capacity. However, if cases rise too much, the county could slip back into the most-restrictive purple tier.
Orange County’s unadjusted rate per 100,000 is at 6.1, but the volume of testing brought it down to 6, Kim said Wednesday.
>> Want to read more stories like this? Get our Free Daily Newsletters Here!
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8291208 https://ift.tt/2GDyaZM
No comments:
Post a Comment