Orange County reports 1,671 new COVID-19 cases on second day of stay-at-home order

Tim Kersey, fire prevention analyst with the Fountain Valley Fire Department, swabs the inside of his nose.

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Published Dec. 7, 2020 Updated Dec. 8, 2020 3:39 PM PT

The stay-at-home order for Southern California went into effect Monday, as state and public health officials implement measures to address the latest surge in cases from the coronavirus pandemic.

The restrictions, imposed once a region has fallen below 15% with its intensive care unit capacity availability, were triggered on Saturday for Southern California, and consequently Orange County.

In the middle of the holiday season, the shutdown will strike a blow to businesses and revelers alike. The stay-at-home order remains in place for a minimum of three weeks, meaning that its impact will be felt through Christmas. The earliest that Orange County could be relieved of the latest restrictions is Dec. 28.

The order requires the affected regions to limit retail capacity to 20%, allows for only takeout orders from restaurants, and keeps various establishments closed, including barbershops, cardrooms, bars and museums.

Fountain Valley Sports Park served as a COVID-19 testing site on Tuesday. Michael Vo, who was recently selected to serve a third term as the mayor of Fountain Valley, said that he went to the event and spoke with a number of attendees from a variety of backgrounds. Those he interacted with at the site included a factory worker, a food server and a healthcare worker.

Vo stressed the importance of providing free testing, providing relief from further financial hardship as people try to get back to work.

Nam Nguyen, 64, of Irvine drops off his testing kit after being screened by 360 Clinic medical assistant Carol Cano.

“Obviously, the effort of flattening the curve and combatting this pandemic, providing tests to the community is critical,” Vo said. “I do see a challenge to many residents of Fountain Valley and many Orange County residents.”

Vo added that the city is also working to bring a testing booth to the Fountain Valley Library within a couple of weeks.

Testing was performed by 360 Clinic, which can be reached online at 360clinic.md, or over the phone at 800-446-8888. Testing is available for people with symptoms, healthcare workers and first responders and essential workers. Those who live in or work at a skilled nursing facility or a group living facility, as well as people who have had close contact with someone believed to have contracted the virus, may also receive a test.

The Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa continues to serve as a testing location by appointment Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Clinic 360 medical assistants screen patients during a COVID-19 mobile testing site at Fountain Valley Sports Park.

Orange County reported 1,671 new coronavirus cases in data released by the Orange County Health Care Agency on Tuesday.

The county did not report any new deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, but it has had 1,633 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic. Cumulative cases in the county climbed to 90,513.

Intensive care unit occupancy rates were of primary concern when the new stay-at-home order was introduced last week. The county now has 946 hospitalizations because of the virus, while 235 of those patients are in ICU beds.

“Our state is committed to health broadly, not just around COVID health,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. “We want that capacity to be there for you when there’s a car accident, God forbid, or when a heart attack or a stroke happens.”

The county healthcare agency also reported 18,025 tests for the virus within the last day, bringing the total number of tests administered to 1,590,041. An estimated 62,955 people countywide have made a recovery after contracting the virus.

A dashboard for tracking transmission of the virus in schools has also been added by the healthcare agency. Since the county began gathering data on Aug. 19, a cumulative case count of 675 has been recorded among students, teachers and other school staff.