Orange County reports 22 more coronavirus deaths, 911 new cases

IRVINE, CA - JULY 13: Curogram health care specialist Mari Cruz, and Dr. Ali Varasteh retrieve the test from a patient after directing them to administer the COVID-19 test themselves in the car at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine on Monday, Jul

Twenty-two more people in Orange County have died due to COVID-19, officials reported Wednesday, as the countywide death toll rose to 455.

The Orange County Health Care Agency also reported 911 more people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, raising the total to 27,031 since the pandemic began.

The county has recorded 34 COVID-19 fatalities since Sunday. Last week, the county reported 58 coronavirus fatalities.

Just one of the 22 deaths reported Wednesday was a skilled nursing facility resident. Of the total death toll, 216 were skilled nursing facility residents and 16 were assisted living facility residents.

The number of hospitalized patients increased from 712 Tuesday to 722, and the number of patients in intensive care inched up from 237 to 238.

Of the 27,031 cases of coronavirus in the county, 1,361 were skilled nursing home facility residents.

The county has reported administering 329,001 coronavirus tests and has documented 11,611 recoveries.

Orange County is on the state's watch list for counties experiencing high rates of new cases and hospitalizations. It has shown some improvement, with some continuing concerns.

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The county's case rate per 100,000 residents increased from 240.6 Tuesday to 242.9, higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents.

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The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 dipped from 14.6% to 14.1%, but is still much higher than the state's desired rate of 8%.

The three-day average of hospitalized patients jumped from 1.3% on Tuesday to 4.5%, but it is still lower than the state's threshold of 10%.

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Also, the county has 38.6% of its intensive care unit beds available, more than the state's threshold of at least 20% to handle a surge. The county also has 63.9% of its ventilators available, more than double the 25% minimum expected by the state.

In the county's jails, 432 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, with 386 having recovered and 46 in medical isolation being treated for symptoms, according to records posted Tuesday. The county is awaiting the results of 17 tests.