Record highs for COVID cases

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases continued to climb to record heights in Orange County in Tuesday’s report.

According to the county health care agency, the latest daily count is 5,930 cases, up from Monday’s four-day average of 3,857. Hospitalizations increased from 545 to 614 and the use of intensive care units to treat COVID-19 patients is up from 104 to 110.

Deaths, however, remained historically low, down from five to two.

To date, Orange County has had 357,520 cases, of which 310,736 are considered recovered. The death total is at 5,897.

Nationally, The New York Times is reporting that cases – fuelled primarily by the Omicron variant – have risen 239 percent in the past 14 days while deaths are down 3 percent.

In California, new cases have risen 525 percent over a similar period, according to Los Angeles Times. Deaths, however, are down 21 percent.