Orange County Reports 47 More COVID-19 Deaths as Hospitalizations Decline

Orange County Reports 47 More COVID-19 Deaths as Hospitalizations Decline
The University of California—Irvine (UCI) Medical Center opened a network of field hospital rooms Dec. 29 in the center’s parking lot due to Orange County’s spike in COVID-19 cases. (Drew Von Voorhis/The Epoch Times)
City News Service
2/1/2021
Updated:
2/1/2021

SANTA ANA—Orange County logged 47 more COVID-19 fatalities Feb. 1, raising the cumulative death toll to 3,109, while new 1,003 new cases were reported and hospitalization rates continued on a downward trend.

The county’s cumulative case count now stands at 233,394.

Of the fatalities reported Feb. 1, 10 were skilled nursing facility residents and eight were assisted living facility residents. Of the total fatalities since the pandemic began, 840 were skilled nursing facility residents and 337 were assisted living facility residents.

Since Jan. 31, the county has logged 91 coronavirus-related fatalities. Last week, the county reported 393 coronavirus deaths, up from 305 the week before.

The death reports are staggered because they come from a variety of sources and are not always logged immediately.

So far this month, the death toll is at 574, with Jan. 3 the deadliest day in the pandemic, with 58 reported COVID-19 deaths. The next-most lethal day was Dec. 30, with 53 deaths, and then Christmas Day with 52.

December was the deadliest month during the pandemic with 834 people succumbing to coronavirus.

The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals has continued its downward trend, declining from 1,412 on Jan. 31 to 1,362 on Feb. 1, with the number of patients in intensive care dropping from 392 to 384.

The county’s state-adjusted ICU bed availability remains at zero, and the unadjusted figure increased from 9.8 percent Jan. 31 to 10.9 percent.

The state created the adjusted metric to reflect the difference in beds available for COVID-19 patients and non-coronavirus patients. The county has 49 percent of its ventilators available.

The Orange County Health Care Agency reported 11,640 tests on Feb. 1, for a total of 2,693,313.