ORANGE COUNTY Health Care Agency stats on coronavirus show a downward trend in new cases (Shutterstock).

The arc of statistics on new coronavirus cases in Orange County continues to bend toward fewer infections.

Thursday’s weekly report from the county health care agency showed 1,136 cases, down from 1,427 last week and 1,495 in the first month of October.

However, the number of related deaths jumped from seven last week to 23. That’s a repeat of the earlier up-and-down pattern in fatalities.

Hospitalizations are up modestly from 116 last week to 118 this week. That’s still lower than 133 in the month’s first week.

The use of intensive care units used to treat COVID-19 patients rose from 11 to 14.

To date, Orange County – with 3.2 million residents – has had 673,169 cases and 7,518 deaths.