Coronavirus cases on the rise in Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Orange County's number of coronavirus cases jumped to 403 Saturday as another 85 cases were confirmed, the largest daily increase yet.

Another death was reported too, bringing the county's coronavirus death toll to four.

No information was immediately released about the latest fatality. Two deaths were reported Friday. The county's first coronavirus fatality was reported Tuesday and involved a 75-year-old man who was
hospitalized March 17 and died two days later.

As of Saturday, 4,884 people had been tested, leaving county officials with enough tests for 1,090 people.

RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.

County officials are also releasing more details about coronavirus cases in individual cities, with Anaheim showing the highest number of confirmed cases, closely followed by Irvine and Newport Beach. County health leaders, however, implored residents to not read too much into the data,
because a higher number of cases in one spot could be attributed to a variety of factors such as more access to testing because of health insurance coverage.

"We don't want people to assume a higher or lower number puts them at a greater or lesser risk,'' Orange County Public Health Director David Soulelas said at a news conference Friday.

Orange County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick said the statistics do not indicate there has been a cluster or outbreak in any one area of the county.

Soulelas and Quick emphasized the importance of social distancing, as it will lessen the chances of a surge of cases that could overload the county's health system.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes has announced he will soon begin releasing inmates with 60 days or less to go on their sentences in an effort to reduce the population of the Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana during the outbreak.

The first coronavirus diagnosis of an inmate in the Orange County jail system was received by sheriff's officials on Tuesday. An inmate in his 40s tested positive and was placed in isolation. He had been booked on June 17, 2018, on suspicion of child endangerment, torture, false imprisonment and
assault with a deadly weapon.

Sheriff's officials announced on Thursday night two more men in the Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana tested positive for the coronavirus. They were all housed in the same module, officials said. Hundreds of inmates live in dormitory-style or barracks jails that make it difficult to enforce keeping 6 feet of distance from each other and deputies, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has said.

Get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.