TimesOC: Has Orange County’s latest COVID-19 surge peaked?
Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.
It’s Friday, Aug. 27. I’m Ben Brazil, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
It may be too soon to tell whether Orange County’s latest COVID-19 surge has peaked.
Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county’s deputy health officer, said this week that she didn’t want to jump to that conclusion because cases could increase again if people stop taking protective measures.
“And we know, more recently, schools just opened, and that can also impact numbers,” she said.
Los Angeles Times reporter Emily Alpert Reyes wrote that the deputy health officer considers current COVID-19 rates to be at a high transmission level, but recent rates have been encouraging.
On Thursday, the O.C. Health Care Agency reported 477 more positive cases and seven deaths from the disease caused by the virus. There are 565 patients currently hospitalized and 122 in ICU in the county.
Chinsio-Kwong said that the ICU numbers are steady, but hospitals are facing challenges with so many patients requiring beds.
Reyes said roughly one-fifth of adult beds in the county’s ICUs are available, according to county data.
Also regarding the pandemic, two UC Irvine studies have revealed racial and social disparities in infection and mortality rates during the first and second surges of the pandemic last year.
Researchers found that Orange County residents from ZIP codes with higher-density households, lower education and less insurance coverage were more likely to be infected by and die from the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. They also determined that Asian residents were more likely to die from the virus than whites, and men, the elderly and Latino people were more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.
One of the studies also found that Asian people had a higher chance of dying from COVID-19 than white people. UC Irvine professor and researcher Daniel Parker said hateful incidents and rhetoric directed at the Asian community may have led to fewer Asian people seeking a medical diagnosis. During the first wave of the virus and until he was voted out of office, former President Donald Trump railed against the “China virus.” During the pandemic, hate incidents increased against the Asian community.
“So maybe if you’re Asian and you’re feeling sick, you’re going to wait a little bit longer to get diagnosed because there’s a lot of stigma around this,” Parker speculated. “What this means is you have less on average being diagnosed, but the deaths are still happening. So it wouldn’t necessarily be that there’s a biological reason that Asians are higher risk of death. It’s just among those who tested positive, were more likely to die at this time anyways, during the first wave.”
MORE NEWS
While Disneyland hotels have reopened, furloughed and laid-off employees who used to work in Disney’s hospitality services are left navigating through fear and confusion as the phased reopenings slowly bring back select employees. Disney has slashed entire departments at the Disneyland Hotel, Paradise Pier and Grand Californian hotels. A local union representing Disney employees is continuing to bargain with the company to get its members back to work. TimesOC
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s use-of-force policies lack clarity, potentially risking the safety of the public and exposing the county to liability, according to a report from a county oversight agency. The first public report by the Office of Independent Review also found that deputies are filing late or incomplete force reports, and training instructors have spread bias and endorsed violence. The department also lacks a dedicated de-escalation policy, which has become all the more important given the amount of high-profile police killings in the last few years. TimesOC
An Orange County Superior Court judge this week approved state prosecutors’ request to drop several rape charges against a Newport Beach surgeon and his girlfriend. The case will now be focused around two women who allege they were attacked in 2016 and 2017. This is the latest in the saga of Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley, who were initially described as sexual predators preying on vulnerable women. L.A. Times
Newport Beach is calling for greater local control over the school district’s masks and vaccine decisions. The City Council this week approved the resolution after parents urged the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to make masks optional, despite a state requirements mandating masks in schools. The council’s resolution contends that the state’s mask requirements don’t heed local COVID-19 conditions, such as case and vaccination rates. Daily Pilot
LIFE & LEISURE
Crear Studio in Santa Ana will be hosting an exhibit from local artist Albert Lopez Jr., in what will be an ongoing effort to showcase local artists of color who are often overlooked. The exhibit will pay tribute to the city of Santa Ana, where Lopez grew up with his immigrant parents. This will be Lopez’s first show in a gallery in his hometown in 25 years. TimesOC
As Orange County contends with its third COVID-19 surge, performing arts venues have announced vaccine and mask mandates to keep attendees safe from the spread of the virus. The participating organizations will enforce the mandates into the foreseeable future and make assessments of the continuing health crisis. The organizations include the Irvine Barclay Theatre, Musco Center for the Arts, Pacific Symphony, Pacific Chorale, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Soka Performing Arts Center, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and South Coast Repertory. TimesOC
A Huntington Beach teenager is running a nonprofit to educate other youth in financial literacy. The Youth Investors Corp. has expanded since it was started last summer with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley. With the conclusion of the program’s summer course, a $500 grant was given to the winner of the session. Daily Pilot
SPORTS
Local Olympians will be celebrated at a Newport Beach parade on Sept. 12 for their efforts at the Tokyo Games. The parade was planned by Supervisor Katrina Foley to support athletes from her district, which includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and some of Fountain Valley. Members of the Olympic women’s water polo and volleyball teams will be in attendance. Daily Pilot
The Angels blew an early four-run lead this week to fall to the Baltimore Orioles 10-6. The team’s performance was riddled with errors, as pitching woes continued. Some of the contribution to the team’s issues could be losing three pitchers, two for reasons related to COVID-19. Even star pitcher Shohei Ohtani had a rough night, giving up three home runs in five innings and also going hitless with three strikeouts at the plate. L.A. Times
Question of the Week
Orange County is a big, diverse community with a bustling entertainment and tourist industry. Yet the county has major hurdles to overcome — homelessness, climate change, political corruption and law enforcement misconduct. Oh, and a pandemic. We want to hear your opinions on these subjects!
Each week, we’ll ask you a new question and post some of the answers in the following newsletter.
Last week, we asked you: Should children be required to wear masks at school? Why or why not?
Here are some of the responses we got:
“Absolutely, yes, children should be wearing masks, especially children under 12, who have not had access to the vaccine, yet. I have four grandchildren, under 12, and I do worry for their safety, since the Delta variant seems to be more aggressive. Really, right now, everyone should be wearing masks inside, and following all of the CDC guidelines.” —Marsha Bette
“I watched grandkids last week when on vacation together and they automatically put the masks up when we were out going inside somewhere. It is about training the kids to do it. My concern is their health under 12 as other children are not mindful to wear masks unless prompted to do it. There are masks that tie around neck with separate ear elastic. One child had that on all day to pull-up.” —Karen Jackle
“More than 600,000 dead Americans is not a hoax. It is a real threat. You protect your children from threats. Instruct them to use crosswalks, teach stranger/danger, eat clean healthy food, use medicines fighting all kinds of childhood ills. Facing the pandemic of the century protection dictates use of the best tools possible. For kids, right now, that’s masks. Follow your own common sense and don’t ignore this pandemic threat to your child.” —Tim Holland
Now for this week’s question (please keep your answer to 75 words or less):
Should Orange County be doing more to protect Asian, Latino and lower-income people from COVID-19? Why or why not?
Send your answer to Ben at benjamin.brazil@latimes.com.
Stay in Touch
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, we would love to read it (please keep your story to 100 words or less).
We want your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Send any tips or comments to benjamin.brazil@latimes.com or carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
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