Orange County reports 1,651 cases of the coronavirus, 20 deaths following Labor Day weekend

The Orange County Health Care Agency on Tuesday reported 1,651 new cases of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and 20 deaths from the disease. This includes data reported over the three-day holiday weekend.

That brings the total number of cases in the county since the pandemic started up to 288,601. Of the 20 new deaths reported, 19 were individuals not living in facilities and one was a skilled nursing facility resident. Area hospitals reported a total of 466 COVID-19 patients; at least 128 of those individuals are in intensive care units.

Only about 20% of adult beds were available in intensive care units within Orange County as of Monday. Hospitalizations have grown in the county since July, but are beginning to fall to mirror trends statewide. The majority of recent cases, according to data from the agency, are of the Delta variant, which is twice as transmissible as the previous dominant Alpha variant.

In an advisory released to the public, Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, deputy county health officer, noted the decline in cases, but warned residents to take precautionary measures to prevent a potential uptick in cases after the holiday weekend.

This was the case following Labor Day weekend last year, which county officials said they believed delayed the transition of Orange County between reopening tiers at the time. The current daily case count for every 100,000 residents reflects a similar position at 16.

Positivity rates for tests are averaging at 5.4% and, for the health equity quartile positivity rate, 5.8%.

These are both down from a previous seven-day average case rate of 16.9 for every 100,000 people reported between Aug. 26 to Sept. 1. Positivity rates are 5.8%, down from 6.4%.

Hospitalizations are also down from 592 to 591 per day, according to the county. Intensive care unit patients have also declined marginally from 132 to 137 per day for the same period to 128.

Additionally, as of Sept. 2, at least 2 million people in Orange County have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Here are the latest cumulative coronavirus case counts and COVID-19 deaths for select cities in Orange County:

• Santa Ana: 48,034 cases; 886 deaths
• Anaheim: 45,950 cases; 929 deaths
• Huntington Beach: 13,209 cases; 225 deaths
• Costa Mesa: 10,427 cases; 149 deaths
• Irvine: 13,063 cases; 96 deaths
• Newport Beach: 4,772 cases; 92 deaths
• Fountain Valley: 4,178 cases; 89 deaths
• Laguna Beach: 1,093 cases; six deaths

Here are case counts followed by deaths, by age group:

• 0 to 17: 32,279; one
• 18 to 24: 39,715; eight
• 25 to 34: 57,923; 64
• 35 to 44: 44,921; 128
• 45 to 54: 45,330; 346
• 55 to 64: 35,762; 763
• 65 to 74: 17,760; 1,023
• 75 to 84: 8,899; 1,279
• 85 and older: 5,815; 1,658

Updated figures are posted daily at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc. For information on getting tested, visit occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-testing.

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