SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County recorded three new deaths from COVID- 19 today, bringing the total to 42, as the county's coronavirus case count increased by 34 to a total of 2,151.
The number of hospitalized patients increased from 157 on Monday to 178 on Tuesday, with the number of intensive care patients rising from 62 to 74, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Men make up 54% of the county's cases and 62% of its fatalities.
Of the county's total cases, 2% involve people under 18 years old; 9% are between 18-24; 16% are between 25-34; 15% are between 35-44; 19% are between 45-54, 18% are between 55-64, 11% are between 65-74, 6% are between 75- 84, and 4% are 85 and older.
Of the deaths, 5% were 25 to 34 years old, 7% were 35 to 44, 12% were 45-54, 17% were 55-64, 12% were 65-74, 31% were 75-84, and 17% were 85 or older.
Whites account for 33% of the fatalities, 31% were Latino, 29% were Asian, 5% were black and 2% fall into a category of “other.”
The number of people tested for COVID-19 in the county increased by 1,390 to 27,737.
Santa Ana has the most cases with 313, followed by Anaheim at 291, Huntington Beach at 198, and Irvine at 127. They are the four biggest cities in the county.
Despite restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus, crowds flocked to Orange County beaches over the weekend as temperatures rose to summer-like levels, which drew criticism from Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday.
“I cannot impress upon people more that the only thing that will set us back is our behavior, is people stopping the practice of physical distancing and appropriate social distancing,” Newsom said at his daily coronavirus briefing. “That's the only thing that will stop us from reopening this economy... The only thing that can stop that is more images again like we saw over this weekend.”
Unlike in neighboring Los Angeles County, the public was not strictly prohibited from visiting the sand in Orange County, though county beach parking lots remain closed.
City councils in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and San Clemente were holding special meetings Tuesday to discuss their schedules for closing and/or re-opening beaches and parks.