ALL THAT hand-washing, mask-wearing and social distancing may soon be history i(Shutterstock).

The “Great Reopening” is coming closer (Shutterstock).

State and county statistics point toward an America emerging from more than a year of a public health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With cases and deaths plunging and effective vaccines widely administered, many looking forward to June 15 as a new kind of “Independence Day” when masks, closed stores and schools and other restrictions will move from present to past.

Tuesday’s report from the California Department of Public Health shows Orange County still firmly in the “yellow” tier, signifying minimal risk of contracting COVID-19.

Ventura County this week was added to the list of Southern California counties in yellow, joining Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In the OC, the report from the Orange County Health Care Agency on Tuesday showed a second consecutive day of zero deaths. Cases rose from 21 on Monday to 29 today.

To date cases in the county are at 255,291, of which 249,069 are considered recovered.  Deaths are at 5,065.

At the national level cases are down 46 percent over a 14-day period, according to The New York Times. However, the newspaper notes that some states did not report Monday because of Memorial Day.

Deaths are down 36 percent.

In California, cases are up 9 percent and deaths by 22 percent, according to the Los Angeles Times. Those numbers do represent an improvement over recent tallies.