ORANGE COUNTY has a big jump in new cases in Thursday’s report, but … (Shutterstock).

The news from Thursday’s report on the coronavirus pandemic in Orange County was not good, but sometimes bad news comes with an asterisk.

According to the county health care agency, confirmed new cases hit 396, a big leap from Wednesday’s total of 219. However, because of some delays in reporting, that number covers 30 hours instead of the usual 24,

Deaths were up from seven to 12 and hospitalizations rose from 190 to 200. The use of intensive care units to treat COVID-19 patients edged up from 41 to 42.

To date, Orange County has had 302,631 cases, of which 291,100 are considered recovered. Deaths are at 5,550.

Nationally, The New York Times is reporting that – over a 14-day period – new cases have declined 25 percent and deaths by 15 percent.  In California, Los Angeles Times reports that – over a similar period – new cases are down 25 percent but deaths have risen by 8 percent.