Orange County health officials focus on staying in red tier as COVID-19 counts climb

A lady wears a mask while walking at South Coast Plaza., in Costa Mesa, Nov. 6, 2020.

By Sara CardineStaff Writer

Nov. 6, 2020 5:10 PM PT

Orange County officials have for weeks been striving to advance through the state’s color-coded reopening tier system — which ties new coronavirus cases to allowable reopenings — from “substantial” red to “moderate” orange and one step closer to economic recovery.

But as the county entered its 60th day in the red tier Friday, and with the number of new infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations continuing to rise, civic focus has shifted to keeping the county from sliding back into the “widespread” purple tier and more reclosures.

Orange County Supervisor Chairwoman Michelle Steel recently acknowledged the importance of keeping the county from following the lead of neighboring Imperial and San Diego counties, which were booted back to purple earlier this week.

“While Orange County remains firmly in the red tier, it is important that we continue this trend,” Steel said in a news conference Thursday. “We have made a lot of progress as a county and continue to have stable numbers, and I am hopeful we can continue to do so”

People wear masks and face shields while walking at South Coast Plaza., in Costa Mesa Nov. 6, 2020.

With the holidays, and the lure of social gatherings, approaching and as COVID-19 fatigue begins to take hold eight months into the pandemic, Orange County Health Care Agency Medical Director Matt Zahn urged residents to remain vigilant in the months ahead.

“We’re all aware the holiday season is rapidly coming upon us,” he said. “We all think of family gatherings, social gatherings, work gatherings. Unfortunately, you just have to think about those sorts of events differently, because there really is a risk there.”

The agency on Friday recorded 309 new cases of coronavirus and nine deaths, bringing Orange County’s cumulative case count to 61,421 and pushing the fatality rate to 1,503. Area hospitals reported they were treating 177 individuals for COVID-19, including 72 being cared for in intensive care units.

The county’s seven-day average of new cases rose this week six per 100,000 residents, while the average health equity quartile positivity rate decreased slightly to 5.7%.

Those figures would need to drop to 3.9 and 5.2%, respectively, for Orange County to be able to reopen more business sectors. But should new cases increase to seven per 100,000, the county could be subject to even greater restrictions.

Some 12,034 tests countywide Friday, bringing the cumulative number of tests issued to 1,160,473 and accounting for a seven-day average testing positivity rate of 3.6%, up from 3.2% earlier this week.

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