SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County health officials today reported eight more COVID-19 fatalities to push the death toll up to 521, along with 767 additional coronavirus diagnoses.
The number of patients being treated for COVID-19 in Orange County hospitals dipped slightly from 700 on Tuesday to 699, and the number of patients in intensive care units dropped from 234 to 233.
The newest cases raise the cumulative total to 31,743 since the pandemic began, according to the county's Health Care Agency.
Of the deaths reported on Wednesday, one was a skilled nursing facility resident. Of the total death toll, 235 were skilled nursing facility residents and 17 were assisted living facility residents.
The county has administered 374,114 coronavirus tests and documented 16,173 recoveries, the HCA reported.
Orange County is on the state's watch list for counties experiencing high rates of new cases and hospitalizations. It has shown some improvement, but with some continuing concerns.
The county's case rate per 100,000 residents jumped from 183.3 to 211.4, which is far higher than the California Department of Public Health threshold of 25 per 100,000 residents. The rate of residents testing positive for COVID-19 inched up from 12.4% to 12.9%, which is higher than the state's desired rate of 8%.
The change in three-day average of hospitalized patients increased from -2.6% to 1.3%, but remains lower than the state's threshold of 10%.
The number of available ICU beds dropped from 39.4% to 32%, and the percent of ventilators available dipped from 64% to 63%. The state's threshold is 20% of ICU beds available to handle a surge and 25% ventilators on hand.
As of Monday in the county's jails, 439 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19, with 396 having recovered and 43 in medical isolation being treated for symptoms. The county is awaiting the results of 141 tests.
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