Orange County reports 6 new deaths due to COVID-19 ahead of Fourth of July weekend
The United States of America turns 244 years old with the coming of Independence Day on Saturday.
It has undoubtedly been one of the more unique and challenging times for Americans on the home front, and for the world at large, dealing with the fallout from a global pandemic.
Celebrating this Fourth of July may require modifications. It will be noticed locally as the beaches are closed during the holiday weekend. It is a sign that state and local officials believe it will take a collective effort to flatten the curve against COVID-19.
“I think that the residents were not as opposed to it happening this time,” Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said of the beach closures. “We’re in a little bit of a different place than we were when the beaches were first closed last time.
“We did it in coordination with Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, the county and the state. We all figured that it would be better to do the same thing so that crowds didn’t all come to one place.”
The Orange County Health Care Agency combined the amount of diagnostic and antibody COVID-19 tests given in the area for several weeks, adding 30,000 tests looking for recovered cases of the pandemic coronavirus to the tests that reveal active infection.
The Orange County Health Care Agency reported six deaths due to COVID-19 and 713 new positive tests received. Cumulative deaths due to the disease caused by the coronavirus now stand at 360, that number including 184 skilled nursing facility residents and 14 assisted living facility residents. The county’s total case count has risen to 15,778.
Hospitalizations countywide numbered 584 as of Friday, with 187 of those patients in an intensive care unit.
There were 5,963 additional tests reported within the last day, bringing the county’s total tests administered to 253,991. An estimated 8,075 patients have recovered after contracting COVID-19.
Here are the latest cumulative case counts and deaths for select cities:
- Santa Ana: 3,166 cases; 95 deaths
- Anaheim: 2,925 cases; 87 deaths
- Huntington Beach: 754 cases; 40 deaths
- Irvine: 475 cases; 5 deaths
- Costa Mesa: 421 cases; 3 deaths
- Newport Beach: 352 cases; 2 deaths
- Fountain Valley: 137 cases; 6 deaths
- Laguna Beach: 67 cases; Less than 5 deaths
Updated figures are posted daily at occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc.
For information on getting tested, visit occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-testing.
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