Orange County Reports 713 Coronavirus Cases, 6 More Deaths As Beaches Prepare To Close For Holiday Weekend
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) -- Orange County health officials reported an additional 713 coronavirus cases and six more virus-related deaths on Friday.
The new numbers bring the county's total to 15,778 cases and 360 deaths.
The cases include 1,208 skilled nursing facility residents, 406 jail inmates, and 108 homeless people, according to the O.C. Health Care Agency.
Of the six deaths announced on Friday, three were skilled nursing facility residents.
The number of hospitalized patients in O.C. rose from 556 on Thursday to 584 on Friday, but the number of patients in ICU dropped from 193 to 187.
County officials say they have performed 253,991 coronavirus tests. Of the positive cases, 8,075 have recovered.
Most of the county's coastal cities are preparing to close beaches for July 4th weekend in an effort to prevent further community spread of COVID-19.
County CEO Frank Kim said the decision to close beaches over the weekend was made in alignment with most major cities along the California coast out of concern that, with indoor dine-in restaurants and bars closed, the county's beaches would be overwhelmed by crowds.
The closure includes:
- Aliso Beach
- Capistrano Beach
- Salt Creek Beach
- Baby Beach
- Bayside Beach
- Camel Point Beach
- Poche Beach
- Table Rock Beach
- Thousand Steps Beach
- Treasure Island Beach
- West Street Beach
The cities of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach had already announced plans to close their beaches due to the spike in COVID-19 cases. Orange County joins Los Angeles and Ventura counties in shutting down its beaches for the holiday weekend.
San Clemente will be under a soft closure with only parking lots closed through Sunday, but Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson said she does not wish to close the beaches.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
