Orange County surpasses 7,000 coronavirus cases

A jogger and a wildlife photographer wear masks at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach on May 20.

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

June 5, 2020 3:27 PM PT

Orange County reported nine deaths due to COVID-19 and a single-day high of 296 additional cases of the coronavirus, per new numbers released by the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The jump in reported cases came on the same day that the county surpassed 7,000 cumulative cases of the coronavirus to date. That number now stands at 7,064. The death toll in Orange County due to the disease is 174, with 84 of the fatalities having been skilled nursing facility residents.

At present, there are 283 cases that require hospitalization, with 123 of those patients in an intensive care unit. Over the past week, the average number of hospitalizations has been 279.

An estimated 3,021 people have recovered from bouts with the novel coronavirus. That number is calculated by taking the difference between the cumulative case count 28 days ago and current day mortality.

Orange County had seen protests for the reopening of beaches and the state prior to the current wave of demonstrations, seen across the nation, against racial inequality and police brutality that have followed the death of George Floyd.

Orange County officials expressed concern about the potential for the virus to spread among large protests.

“Is it a concern? Absolutely. Do we respect their right to protest? Certainly,” Orange County Executive Officer Frank Kim said at a news conference Thursday. “We would hope that they would do so and use as much caution and safety protocols as reasonably possible.”

An additional 1,932 coronavirus tests have been administered, bringing the new total to 148,371.

The county has seen the age groups of 25 to 34 and 45 to 54 account for 18% of the cumulative coronavirus cases, respectively. People in the age ranges of 35 to 44 and 55 to 64 each come in at 15% of cases. Those ages 18 to 24 make up 10%, and people ages 65 to 74 come in at 9% of the total cases.

Broken down by ethnicity, white people accounted for 36% of the county’s deaths due to the coronavirus in the county, 31% were Hispanic or Latino, and 18% were Asian. African Americans and Pacific Islanders each accounted for 2% of deaths related to the virus within the county.

By age range, all patients who have died were:

85 and up: 56
75 to 84: 47
65 to 74: 31
55 to 64: 18
45 to 54: 13
35 to 44: 6
34 and younger: 3

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

Santa Ana: 1,386 (41.0 cases per 10,000 residents)
Anaheim: 1,248 (34.7 cases per 10,000 residents)
Huntington Beach: 359 (17.6 cases per 10,000 residents)
Irvine: 215 (7.7 cases per 10,000 residents)
Newport Beach: 151 (17.3 cases per 10,000 residents)
Costa Mesa: 137 (11.8 cases per 10,000 residents)
Fountain Valley: 70 (12.4 cases per 10,000 residents)
Laguna Beach: 46 (19.7 cases per 10,000 residents)

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

For information on getting tested at one of the nearly two dozen public clinics around the county, visit occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-testing-and-screening.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Hailey Branson-Potts contributed to this report.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.