In an now almost routine increase in betting, metrics that track the rate and spread of coronavirus cases in Orange County again broke records this week, according to a state update released on Tuesday, January 5.
The county’s case rate was 67.8 cases per day per 100,000 residents, up from 53.5 cases per 100,000 last week for a fifth consecutive record-breaking week.
In comparison, the rate of new cases during the summer peak peaked at approximately 27 cases per 100,000.
The positivity of the tests – the proportion of positive smear tests among all those administered – rose to 17.1%, from 16.9% last week. Recent rates are well above a relatively modest 3.6% test positivity in early November.
Health equity – testing positivity among the most affected and generally low-income neighborhoods in a county – dropped to 23.4% from 24.2% last week, signaling a slight improvement in areas with less access to health care.
But attention is really focused on hospitals, which are filling their previous capacity with the sickest in the community.
Only about 5% of Orange County adult intensive care beds were equipped and ready to receive patients on Monday – COVID-19 or not – according to the Health Care Agency.
“We need to prepare for the next two weeks, because there will be more people who will need hospitalization,” said Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the Health Agency and county health officer.
Orange County is one of many in California that has seen a prolonged increase in cases, Chau said, and because of the drop in tests and test results bottlenecks due to holidays, it is still unclear how bad the situation will get.
“I’m just getting ready for what’s to come in about a week or two,” said Chau, adding that while some public health experts are seeing case rates stabilize, it will probably be a short break before a rise cases caused by vacation dates.
Chau said that disregard for the rules of the pandemic continues as people travel and attend Christmas and New Year dinners and parties. Southern California is still under the state’s most restrictive regional home-stay orders, which prohibit public and private meetings and limit business and public sector operations.
It is likely, he said, that people are relaxing their masking and social detachment habits because they heard that vaccination started.
“The vaccine gives us hope – (it) certainly gives me hope,” said Chau, but at the same time, coronavirus-related hospitalizations have never been so high in Orange County, and skeptics should drive themselves to an emergency room. .
“People who take this with an arrogant attitude, think of their parents, think of their grandparents,” said Chau. “I’m just begging people to think about the vulnerable population in our community.”
To help the situation, Orange County residents need to get tested as soon as they think they have been exposed to COVID-19, Chau said, so they can see the doctor before bad symptoms appear and stay away from the emergency room.