Orange County Reports 47 More COVID-19 Deaths As Hospitalizations Decline

SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County logged 47 more COVID-19 fatalities today, raising the cumulative death toll to 3,109, while new 1,003 new cases were reported and hospitalization rates continued a downward trend.

The county's cumulative case count now stands at 233,394.

Of the fatalities reported Monday, 10 were skilled nursing facility residents and eight were assisted living facility residents. Of the total fatalities since the pandemic began, 840 were skilled nursing facility residents and 337 were assisted living facility residents.

Since Sunday, the county has logged 91 coronavirus-related fatalities. Last week, the county reported 393 coronavirus deaths, up from 305 the week before.

The death reports are staggered because they come from a variety of sources and are not always logged immediately.

So far this month, the death toll is at 574 with Jan. 3 the deadliest day in the pandemic when 58 people succumbed to COVID-19. The runner-up most lethal day was Dec. 30 when 53 people died and Christmas Day when 52 succumbed to coronavirus.

December was the deadliest month during the pandemic with 834 people succumbing to coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals continued its downward trend, declining from 1,412 Sunday to 1,362 Monday, with the number of patients in intensive care dropping from 392 to 384.

The county's state-adjusted ICU bed availability remains at zero, and the unadjusted figure increased from 9.8% Sunday to 10.9%.

The state created the adjusted metric to reflect the difference in beds available for COVID-19 patients and non-coronavirus patients. The county has 49% of its ventilators available.

The Orange County Health Care Agency reported 11,640 tests on Monday, for a total of 2,693,313.

Orange County CEO Frank Kim said last week he was frustrated that officials don't have a long-term view of when more vaccines will arrive.

“We need an estimate two weeks out,'' Kim said. “That would address a lot of concerns people have. We can't schedule beyond two or three days out.''

Kim said hospitals also are ramping up inoculations.

Outbreaks -- defined as at least two cases over the past two weeks -- were reported in 26 skilled nursing facilities and 37 elderly assisted living facilities in the county as of Friday.

Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa -- which was set up to handle overflow from local hospitals -- was treating 30 patients, 20 from Orange County, seven from Los Angeles County, two from Riverside County and one San Bernardino County.

Beginning Monday, the county is offering eligible rental households up to $10,000 in financial assistance for unpaid rent and/or utility bills due to the impact of the pandemic, according to the OCHCA. More information about the program can be found at https://era.211oc.org/ or by calling 211.

Photo: Getty Images


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