SANTA ANA—Orange County reported just one COVID-19 death Jan. 22 and there was additional good news in a declining number of cases and hospitalization rates.
Orange County chief executive Frank Kim said the positivity rate has also declined—from 19.7 percent on Jan. 10 to 14.5 percent on Jan. 22.
“It’s a continuation of the trends we’ve seen,” he said. “What this tells me is that all of the indicators are consistent. The testing rate is still high, so these aren’t false numbers. Hospitalizations are down, the ICUs are trending down and the case positivity is coming down.”
But, he added, “If you look at our numbers they’re still very high compared to where we were before early November and the holidays, so it’s not time to celebrate yet.”
The death reported Jan. 22 occurred on Jan. 4, and brings the cumulative number of coronavirus-related fatalities in the county to 2,547. The last known confirmed death happened on Jan. 21, so it is likely many more fatalities will be reported in the coming weeks as reports roll in periodically from multiple sources.
Since Jan. 17, the county has reported 227 coronavirus-related fatalities. Last week, the county reported 279 deaths, up from 140 the prior week.
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