New report shows COVID rise

Friday’s report on the coronavrius in Orange County showed increases in all four metrics used to measure the pandemic’s status.

According to the county health care agency, the latest tally –which covered Tuesday through Thursday – showed 655 new cases, which is an average of 218.33 cases a day.

That compares to Tuesday’s total – covering four days – of 772 cases, an average of 193. The number of deaths in Friday’s report of 24 is a daily average of eight. Tuesday’s total was eight, an average of two per day.

The OCHCA reports 64 hospitalizations, compared to 60 on Tuesday and 67 a week ago. The count of patients being treated for COVID-19 in intensive care units is at 14, up from 10 on Tuesday and 13 last Friday, April 15.

To date, Orange County has had 550,856 cases, of which 539,474 are considered recovered. The death total is at 6,990.

Nationally, new cases – over a 14-day period – are up 52 percent and deaths down by 33 percent, according to The New York Times. In California, new cases have risen by 21 percent and deaths declined by 12 percent over a similar period, according to Los Angeles Times.