CONFIRMED new corona cases in Orange County continue to decline in Wednesday’s report from the county health agency (Shutterstock).

Some public health officials have suggested it: could the winter coronavirus surge fueled in large part by the Omicron variant have crested and being starting to fall?

Wednesday’s report from the Orange County Health Care Agency suggested that might be true. The latest daily tally is 4,261, down from Tuesday’s four-day average over the long weekend of 6,160, and from Friday’s total of 8,257.

Further, the latest number of confirmed new cases is sharply down from a week ago, when the number peaked at 11,092.

Deaths were at three, down from Tuesday’s count of 17, which averaged out to 4.25 per day.

Hospitalizations are continuing to rise, reaching 1,232 in today’s report. That’s up from 1,197 on Tuesday. The use of intensive care units to treat COVID-19 sufferers was also up, from 199 to 207.

To date, Orange County has had 459,575 cases, of which 321,218 are considered recovered. The total number of deaths is at 5,941.

According to The New York Times, new cases – over a 14-day period – are up 38 percent. That compares to a week ago, when it was 185 percent. Deaths are up by 43 percent, compared to 40 percent on Jan. 12.

Los Angeles Times reports new cases up 71 percent, compared to 344 percent last Wednesday. Deaths are up 56 percent, compared to 82 percent.