Orange County coronavirus cases increase by about 60

Known cases of COVID-19 increased to 1,138 Friday in Orange County, with no new deaths.

The figures, according to the county Health Care Agency, show a day-to-day increase of about 60 coronavirus cases over Thursday but also continue to reflect a decelerating trend health officials tentatively noted this week.

Agency health officer Dr. Nichole Quick said trends, more than single daily points of data, guide the county.

“When we look at flattening of the curve, we sometimes look at a measure called doubling time,” Quick said at a Thursday news conference. “That sort of looks back historically at how quickly our cases were increasing and then how quickly they’re increasing now. That doubling time right now appears to be stretching out.”

From March 13-28 confirmed cases doubled on average once every three days. They did not double again until seven days later on April 4, when they reached 786 cases — and though cases have continued to steadily climb, they have not yet doubled since.

The current cumulative case count comes from 12,870 tests.

The county has not announced a death attributed to COVID-19 since Wednesday. Seventeen Orange County people have died of the respiratory disease since March 24, when the region’s first related death was announced.

The agency also said Friday that 124 people were hospitalized with the virus, 57 of them in intensive care.

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

• Anaheim: 128 (3.6 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Irvine: 91 (3.2 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Newport Beach: 81 (9.3 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Huntington Beach: 78 (3.8 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Santa Ana: 87 (2.6 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Laguna Beach: 35 (15 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Costa Mesa: 22 (1.9 cases per 10,000 residents)
• Fountain Valley: 16 (2.8 cases per 10,000 residents)

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

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