Orange County Reports 1,051 New COVID-19 Cases, 10 Additional Deaths
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Orange County health officials reported 10 coronavirus-related deaths and 1,051 additional cases Tuesday.
To date, the county's totals now stand at 41,578 coronavirus cases and 734 deaths.
Of the county's total death toll, 285 were skilled nursing facility residents, 38 were assisted living facility residents and one was homeless. Of the latest deaths to be reported, one was a skilled nursing facility resident, and one was a staffer at a skilled nursing facility.
Since Sunday, case counts have steadily risen which officials attribute to the state catching up on a backlog created by a glitch in the electronic reporting system from laboratories.
"Because of the technical issue at the state level, the case rate and testing positivity rate were lower than we anticipated they should be," said Dr. Clayton Chau, Orange County Health Care Agency director and interim chief health officer.
"Clearly, there was something wrong with the system," Chau told the Board of Supervisors. "The state said it would be resolved by the end of the week at the latest."
Currently, 441 confirmed coronavirus patients in Orange County are hospitalized, down from the 468 hospitalizations reported Monday.
Of those hospitalized patients, 141 are in the intensive care unit, according to the latest numbers.
The change in the three-day average of hospitalized patients went from -7.5% to -8.1%, which is much lower than the state's threshold.
The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 in the county increased from 7.4% Monday to 8.3%. The state's desired threshold is 8%.
The county's case rate per 100,000 residents increased from 82.1 to 103.9, which is far higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents.
Out of the 41,578 positive cases in the county, officials have reported 31,445 documented recoveries. To date, the county has reported 498,642 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with 13,839 logged on Tuesday.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)