'The Risk Hasn't Changed': OC Officials Urge Residents To Continue Following Health Guidelines, Even As County Moves Toward Less Restrictions
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) -- Orange County reported 156 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases to 52,538.
The county also reported 26 additional coronavirus-related fatalities, increasing the death toll to 1,176.
The 49 deaths reported since Sunday were spread out over the past few weeks, according to the O.C. Health Care Agency. The lag in reported is common since data comes from several sources, officials said.
The last double-digit day of reported deaths was Aug. 27, when 12 people died. Last week, the county reported 34 fatalities, down from 42 the week prior.
Hospitalizations in the county increased from 170 on Tuesday to 175 on Wednesday, with the number of patients in ICU decreasing from 55 to 51.
"Even though the disease transmission is much lower in our communities, today the risk is still the same for those individuals with underlying health conditions,'' Orange County CEO Frank Kim said. "We know people are interacting and we have to be very careful with people who are older or who have underlying health conditions. The risk hasn't changed.''
Officials expressed concern that, as more businesses reopen, residents might let their guard down and not be as vigilant about following local health guidelines.
"We're all going through it as an entire country. As we reopen more you'll continue to see a disproportionate number of people who pass away,'' Kim said. "Just because your risk of infection is lower because there's less transmission in the community doesn't mean that the actual risk of contracting COVID-19 has diminished, especially for those who are older and have underlying conditions."
County officials also said that COVID-19 numbers are improving enough to bump the county to the orange tier of the state's monitoring system within a week, if trends continue.
The overall positivity rate dropped from 3.9% last week to 3.1% this week. The daily case count per 100,000 people also decreased from 4.7 to 3.6
"I expect we will go to the orange tier next Tuesday,'' Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said. "That's another huge milestone relative to getting the upper hand on coronavirus in Orange County.''
Since the virus has an average incubation period of around two weeks, Labor Day gatherings would have already shown in the numbers, if they were going to have an effect, Kim said.
The orange tier would allow retail stores and shopping malls to operate at full capacity, with closed common areas. Churches, restaurants, movies, museums, zoos and aquariums could operate indoors at 50% capacity. Gyms can expand to 25% capacity, and pools will be allowed to reopen.
Orange County schools are eligible to reopen for in-person instruction this week, but not all of them are making the move right away.
Individual school districts are deciding, and many are offering hybrid models of in-person and virtual instruction. If there is a breakout at any school, it will have to close for two weeks and have no more positive cases before reopening, officials said.
The O.C. Health Care Agency has reported that 810,908 COVID-19 tests have been conducted since the pandemic began, including 5,716 on Wednesday. There have been 47,367 documented recoveries.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)