MONDAY’S figures on new coronavirus cases suggested the possible shift to a new tier on Tuesday (Shutterstock).

Tuesday could be the day.

When the California Department of Public Health reveals tier assignments for the week tomorrow, many in Orange County are hopeful that it will mean a move to a less restrictive tier in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

To be reclassified from “purple” (widespread) to “red” (substantial) the county needs to meet the standard of adjusted case rate of seven new COVID-19 cases per day, per 100,000. Last week’s tally came in at 7.6, but encouraging numbers since then have led to optimism that the OC will qualify to go “red” this week.

Last week’s stats showed that the county even qualified for the “orange” (moderate) status) in two categories although the adjusted case rate would have to plunge to 3.9 to meet that standard.

Hitting “red” would mean – among other things – that restaurants would be able to resume indoor dining on a limited basis. Some eateries – perhaps anticipating good news – have already begun to quietly do that before waiting for official authorization.

Monday’s results from the Orange County Health Care Agency had mostly upbeat statistics. The number of new confirmed cases rose from 110 on Sunday to a still-low 163 on Monday. Deaths declined from 53 to 26 and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 infections slid from 296 to 288.

The number of patients being treated for coronavirus in intensive care units declined from 89 to 84.

The cumulative total of virus cases to date is at 247,914, with 236,960 considered recovered. Deaths now total 4,252.

Here is the list of OC cities with the most cases. Deaths are in parentheses.

• Santa Ana: 44,199 (756)
• Anaheim: 41,082 (753)
• Garden Grove: 16,240 (329)
• Orange: 11,606 (219)
• Fullerton: 11,107 (260)
• Huntington Beach: 10,342 (190)
• Irvine: 10,222 (76)

Westminster has had 6,996 cases and 167 deaths. Stanton has had 3,131 cases and 53 deaths.