OC Reports 1,701 New COVID-19 Cases, Surpasses 2,500 Total Deaths
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — The Orange County Health Care Agency Wednesday reported 1,701 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 31 more deaths, bringing countywide totals to 216,509 cases and 2,508 deaths.
There were 1,975 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 527 of whom were being treated in intensive care units — a decrease in overall hospitalizations from the 2,007 reported Tuesday, but a slight uptick in ICU admissions.
"Hospital numbers are down, so that's good," Andrew Noymer, a UC Irvine professor of population health and disease prevention, said. "ICU numbers are down from the peak, so that's good, too."
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And officials said they were seeing other positive signs as well, with the county's adjusted daily case rate per 100,000 residents has decreased to 67.1 from 78.8 last week and the seven-day positivity rate has dropped from 19.5% to 16.7%.
"Over the last five or six days we've seen a decline in positivity," O.C. CEO Frank Kim said Tuesday. "So I see that as a positive trend."
But the county's vaccination efforts have faced setbacks, with the Disneyland Resort super site forced to close Tuesday and Wednesday due to high winds. The site is expected to to reopen as soon as weather allows.
As of Jan. 17, 88,539 individuals have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Orange County and 20,272 have received the second dose.