Big rise in hospitalizations as Orange County reports 3 more coronavirus deaths

The number of hospitalizations due to the coronavirus that causes the respiratory disease COVID-19 climbed sharply Thursday in Orange County as officials reported three more deaths, bringing the total to 13, the county Health Care Agency said.

The county’s total cases increased to 656, up nearly 10% from the day before. The cumulative case count comes from 7,791 tests, the Health Care Agency said.

The agency said in Thursday’s update that 115 people were hospitalized with the virus, with 47 of them in intensive care.

On Wednesday, 67 coronavirus patients were in area hospitals, 31 in intensive care. That makes Thursday’s snapshot an increase of 72% in total hospitalizations and 52% in intensive care admissions.

The 13 deaths were spread over a range of age groups. Seven were 65 or older, three were 45 to 64, one was 35 to 44 and two were 25 to 34. Seven were men and six were women. County health officials did not provide further information about the people who died.

Here are the latest case counts for select cities, with their numbers per 10,000 residents:

• Irvine: 65 (2.3 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Newport Beach: 60 (6.9 cases per 10,000 residents). Twelve of them were in the city’s Corona del Mar area, which the county started showing separately Thursday.
• Anaheim: 60 (1.7 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Huntington Beach: 44 (2.2 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Laguna Beach: 28 (12 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Santa Ana: 40 (1.2 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Costa Mesa: 14 (1.2 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Fountain Valley: eight (1.4 cases per 10,000 residents)

Updated figures are posted daily at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc.

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