Coronavirus: Orange County Reports 5 More Deaths, 163 New Cases As City Council Challenges Order Closing Beaches
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Orange County health officials reported five additional coronavirus-related deaths Friday, bringing the total to 50, the largest jump in the death toll since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The county also reported an additional 163 coronavirus cases totaling 2,537.
The number of hospitalized patients dipped from 190 on Thursday to 181 Friday, with the number of intensive care patients rising declining from 63 to 61.
The jump in deaths came as hundreds of protesters gathered in Huntington Beach to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift his stay-at-home orders and his closure of the county's beaches.
Of the county's total cases, 50 involve people under 18-years-old; 225 are between 18-24; 453 are between 25-34; 376 are between 35-44; 475 are between 45-54; 427 are between 55-64; 262 are between 65-74; 160 are between 75-84; 108 are 85 and older.
Of the patients who died, four percent were 25 to 34 years old, six percent were 35 to 44, 10 percent were 45-54, 14 percent were 55-64, 10 percent were 65-74, 36 percent were 75-84, and 20 percent were 85 or older. Of the deaths, 30 percent were white, 30 percent were Latino, 26 percent were Asian, six percent were black, two percent were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two percent were categorized as "other," and two percent were unknown.
As of Friday, the county has tested 34,128 people.
The jump in deaths came as hundreds of protesters gathered in Huntington Beach to call on Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift his stay-at-home orders and his closure of the county's beaches.
On Thursday, Newsom announced a "hard closure" of all state and local beaches in Orange County beginning Friday after seeing large crowds this past weekend.
In response, multiple Orange Beach city councils voted to challenge Newsom's orders to temporarily close all Orange County beaches beginning Friday.
Huntington Beach City Council plans to file an injunction challenging the constitutionality of the governor's order to close the beaches.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)