Hospitalizations from COVID-19 trend downward in Orange County

A man rides a hand pedal bike on Saturday at Huntington Beach Pier.

By Lilly NguyenStaff Writer

Sept. 10, 2021 6:29 PM PT

Hospitalizations from COVID-19 are dropping in Orange County, according to data reported by the county’s healthcare agency Friday.

Officials said the seven-day average rate of coronavirus cases fell from 17.4 to 13.6 out of every 100,000 people between the period of Sept. 2 to 8, but data reported Friday indicated 16 cases out of every 100,000 people.

COVID-19 hospitalizations fell from 466 cases on Monday to 426 on Friday. But patients being cared for in intensive care units at area hospitals ticked up from 128 to 130.

On Friday, the county reported 563 new cases and four deaths. It also confirmed the death of a child under the age of 5 from COVID-19 in August, the second pediatric case that led to death in Orange County. The first was a teenage girl with underlying medical conditions who succumbed to the disease in August 2020.

An estimated 272,055 Orange County residents have recovered from infection with the coronavirus.

The vast majority of hospitalized patients are individuals who have not been vaccinated, according to the data, and officials have stressed the importance of getting the vaccine.

“COVID-19 will be present in Orange County for the foreseeable future, and there is always the possibility of new versions of the virus emerging, like the Delta and Mu variants,” said Dr. Matthew Zahn, deputy county health officer, in a statement. “Those facts do not change the things we can do to prevent this disease.”

“Vaccination against COVID-19 is still the most effective way to prevent you from getting sick, being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19. In Orange County, someone who is not fully vaccinated is almost six times more likely to get COVID-19 than a person who is fully vaccinated,” said Zahn. “Even with slightly declining cases in Orange County, you should get vaccinated.”

As of Thursday, a little over 2 million people in Orange County have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Among school-age children too young to receive the vaccine, cases appear to have fallen since August and appear to have plateaued or trended downward even as students have returned to campuses.

In the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, cases increased from 23 — reported on Sept. 1 — to 30 on Friday, accounting for about 0.15% of the district’s population. By comparison, the Laguna Beach Unified School District, which began classes at the same time as Newport-Mesa, has seen cases fall from 16 to 13.

The number of Laguna Beach students in quarantine due to close contact with potential cases has also fallen — from 18 to 5.

In the Huntington Beach Union School District, 22 cases have been confirmed. That district began its classes on Sept. 1.

The Ocean View School District has reported no cases among students or staff. The Fountain Valley School District reported two cases among its staff.

The two districts started classes on Wednesday. The Huntington Beach City School District began classes on Thursday.

The healthcare agency reported that children account for 102 of the new cases of the coronavirus, with 487 in Newport Beach; 1,293 in Costa Mesa; 1,467 in Huntington Beach; 454 in Fountain Valley and 137 in Laguna Beach.

Here are the latest cumulative coronavirus case counts and COVID-19 deaths for select cities in Orange County: