President Trump to visit Newport Beach for fundraising event

President Donald Trump is expected to visit Newport Beach Sunday for a private fundraising event.

The fundraiser is being hosted by tech mogul Palmer Luckey, who co-founded the Oculus Rift, a head-mounted virtual reality device. His company sold for close to $3 billion to Facebook in 2014.

Trump is back on the campaign trail after both he and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, earlier this month. The president left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Oct. 5.

Newport Beach police spokeswoman Heather Rangel declined to comment on the president’s impending visit or related road closures, citing safety protocols. Protests are expected in the area.

Laguna Beach City Council will stay virtual into next year

The Laguna Beach City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to continue to conduct its meetings over Zoom through the first meeting in January.

The council had been considering three options, including a hybrid format that would have allowed the public to speak on a subject of interest and then immediately leave council chambers. Masks were required for that option, as well as social distancing while waiting in line to speak.

Ruben Flores, one of five candidates for two available seats on the City Council in the Nov. 3 election, indicated that he would like the council to consider the hybrid option for those who did not want to participate online.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman said she believed that participation in City Council meetings might be different with an in-person option, but ultimately, she said it is not the time for hybrid meetings.

Councilwoman Sue Kempf agreed with maintaining the virtual format for now, saying, “I think it’s the safe thing to do. I don’t think we have any other choice. We sure don’t want to bring people into an enclosed room.”

Orange County COVID-19 update

The Orange County Health Care Agency reported eight coronavirus deaths and 85 new infections on Saturday in its latest numbers.

The lives lost included four skilled nursing facility residents and one assisted living facility resident, taking the county’s death toll because of the virus to 1,409. The county has also seen a total of 56,672 cases.

Hospitalizations due to the virus numbered 159 on Saturday, with 56 of those patients receiving treatment in intensive care units.

An additional 8,723 tests for the virus were reported within the last day as the total number of tests administered in the county approaches 1 million. The cumulative tests stand at 984,271.

The healthcare agency estimates that 50,747 people in the county have recovered from fighting the virus.

Orange County sits in the second, red tier in the state’s color-coded guidelines for reopening. The county has seven-day averages of 4.6 daily new cases per 100,000 residents and a testing positivity rate of 3.5%. Those numbers come with a seven-day lag.

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

• Santa Ana: 10,907 cases; 303 deaths
• Anaheim: 9,682 cases; 308 deaths
• Huntington Beach: 2,496 cases; 82 deaths
• Costa Mesa: 1,927 cases; 42 deaths
• Irvine: 1,785 cases; 13 deaths
• Newport Beach: 1,186 cases; 26 deaths
• Fountain Valley: 534 cases; 19 deaths
• Laguna Beach: 237 cases; fewer than five deaths

Here are the case counts by age group, followed by deaths:

• 0 to 17: 4,128 cases; one death
• 18 to 24: 8,560 cases; four deaths
• 25 to 34: 12,139 cases; 20 deaths
• 35 to 44: 9,019 cases; 38 deaths
• 45 to 54: 9,163 cases; 111 deaths
• 55 to 64: 6,781 cases; 199 deaths
• 65 to 74: 3,394 cases; 277 deaths
• 75 to 84: 1,922 cases; 307 deaths
• 85 and older: 1,519 cases; 452 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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