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SANTA ANA (CNS) - The number of COVID-positive patients in Orange County's hospitals remained the same today at 83, according to the latest state data, with 12 of those patients being treated in intensive care, up from 11 on Saturday.
The latest numbers come as the county's infection rate is showing signs of trending upward. Local health officials reported another 1,071 positive COVID tests and 10 additional deaths linked to the virus on Friday, as the county's pandemic death toll passed the 7,000 mark. Health officials have said that the majority of people who die of COVID complications have underlying conditions, mainly hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
The new cases reported Friday cover the dates April 26-28, and bring the county's cumulative total to 552,994. The county had 26.4% of its ICU beds available as of Friday, well above the 20% level when officials become concerned, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency, which does not report COVID data on weekends.
Of those hospitalized, 83.2% are unvaccinated, and that rate is at 86.2% in the ICU, the OCHCA says. The daily case rate per 100,000 people increased from 5.7 Tuesday to 6.7 as of Friday on a seven-day average with seven-day lag, and from 3.6 to 4.3 for the adjusted rate with a seven-day average and seven-day lag.
The testing positivity rate went from 1.9% to 2.3% overall and from 0.8% to 0.9% in the health equity quartile which measures the communities hardest hit by the pandemic. The case rate per 100,000 for fully vaccinated residents who have received a vaccine booster decreased from 6.9 to 5.6, according to data released Tuesday. The case rate for fully vaccinated residents with no booster decreased from 3.9 on April 15 to 3.2, and the rate for not fully vaccinated residents dropped from 6.6 to 5.6.
The number of vaccines administered in Orange County increased from 2,300,191 the previous to 2,301,942 this past week, according to Tuesday's data. That number includes an increase from 2,158,968 to 2,161,026 residents who have received the two-dose regimen of vaccines from Pfizer or Moderna.
The number of residents receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine decreased from 141,223 last week to 140,916 as officials continue to adjust to a new accounting of shots administered in the counties across the state. Booster shots increased from 1,269,169 the previous week to 1,274,022 this past week.
In the most recently eligible age group of 5 to 11 years old, the number of children vaccinated increased from 88,917 to 89,318, versus 179,262 who have not been vaccinated. It's the least-vaccinated age group in Orange County.