Orange County Health Officials Report 32 Additional Deaths, 580 New COVID-19 Cases
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Orange County health officials reported 32 coronavirus-related deaths and 580 additional cases Thursday.
To date, the county's totals now stand at 38,711 coronavirus cases and 697 deaths.
According to Orange County County Executive Officer Frank Kim, the low number of cases is undoubtedly due to the state's recent glitch in reporting positive tests from laboratories.
Of Thursday's deaths, five were skilled nursing facility residents, three were assisted living facility residents and one was homeless.
Since the pandemic began, 279 skilled nursing facility residents have died of COVID-19 in Orange County and 33 assisted living facility residents have succumbed to the virus.
Since Sunday, 48 fatalities have been reported. The county logged 87 coronavirus deaths last week and 70 the week prior.
Currently, 517 confirmed coronavirus patients in Orange County are hospitalized, down from the 536 hospitalizations reported Wednesday.
Of those hospitalized patients, 171 are in the intensive care unit, according to the latest numbers.
The county's case rate per 100,000 residents decreased from 115 to 97.6, which is still far higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents.
Out of the 38,711 positive cases in the county, officials have reported 28,109 documented recoveries. To date, the county has reported 448,087 COVID-19 tests have been conducted, with 3,330 logged on Thursday.
The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 dipped from 8.6% to 8.1%, just above the state's desired rate of 8%. Those numbers also may be deceiving given the issue with reporting statistics to the state.
On Tuesday, the state released updated guidance for youth sports activities, allowing activities to resume with physical distancing and safety protocols.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)