Bars, gyms and movie theaters are among the businesses that will be allowed to reopen in Orange County Friday.
Community pools, schools, day camps, museums, galleries, zoos, aquariums, wineries and family entertainment centers have also received permission to reopen.
Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel said, “We have reason to be positive about where we are” in terms of coronavirus statistics when compared to neighboring counties and the state.
“Because we took this pandemic seriously, we have continued to have low numbers of COVID-19 relative to our surrounding counties and regions,” Steel said.
Steel said she has sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to allow the county to reopen some businesses in Phase 3 that include nail salons, youth sports and theme parks.
“Our businesses are hurting and they need to open immediately,” Steel said.
Supervisor Andrew Do noted the county declared a state of emergency in February before there was even one confirmed case in Orange County.
At the time, the county was opposing the state’s plans to house COVID-19 patients from a cruise line at the Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa.
Do said the county “remains best positioned of all the urban counties” because “we’ve taken tremendous steps in protecting our workers and residents and identifying populations at risk to minimize the spread of COVID-19.”
However, “we still have to protect each other and take steps to try to prevent the surge of COVID-19,” Do said., adding that if there is a spike in cases the county runs the risk of the state ordering businesses to close again.
“I still would encourage everyone to maintain social distancing when possible and when you feel you’re in a where you can’t maintain that social distance, wear a face covering, especially those who are at risk, the elderly, people with underlying health conditions and people who work in locations where there is a higher risk of infection,” Do said.
The Orange County Health Care Agency reported four more COVID-19 deaths Thursday, raising the total to 202, as Seal Beach officials revealed a nursing home outbreak that has claimed two lives and sickened dozens of residents and staffers.
The county on Thursday also reported 260 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 7,987. The number of people hospitalized dropped from 306 on Wednesday to 294, while the number of patients in intensive care dipped from 146 to 142.
The number of fatalities involving skilled nursing facility residents increased from 92 to 94. The agency has reported 25 such deaths over the past three days.
According to the Health Care Agency, there have been outbreaks in 28 skilled nursing facilities, six in assisted living facilities, and in two care homes. An outbreak is defined as more than two cases.
As of Wednesday, 979 residents of the nursing homes had contracted COVID-19, and 505 staffers had been infected, according to the county.
Seal Beach officials issued a statement Thursday detailing how a nursing home outbreak inflated its number of coronavirus cases from 29 to 57 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Management of the Seal Beach Health and Rehabilitation Center learned on May 23 that a resident and a staffer had tested positive for COVID-19.
The outbreak has since ballooned to 63 residents and 40 staffers testing positive, with two residents dying of complications from the virus, Seal Beach officials said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department reported that 385 inmates have contracted coronavirus, and 362 have recovered, as of Wednesday. A dozen inmates are currently sick with the virus and officials are awaiting test results for 51 inmates.
The number of people tested for the virus in the county stands at 172,072, with 3,726 documented recoveries.
The county’s rising death toll hits as the health care agency has been roiled by defections from its executive staff.
Dr. Clayton Chau, the HCA’s director, was appointed as the county’s chief health officer on Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors following the abrupt resignation of Dr. Nichole Quick, who had faced intense pressure over her order requiring face coverings to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Quick, who had held the job since last June and had also been assuming some responsibilities of the director of public health services, resigned Monday night after drawing criticism from some residents and two members of the Board of Supervisors who had repeatedly grilled her publicly regarding her order to require face coverings as the county allowed some businesses to reopen.
Quick had been receiving heightened security due to threats stemming from her mask order. Protesters brought a poster with her photo bearing a Hitler mustache and swastikas to a Board of Supervisors meeting last month.
Orange County CEO Frank Kim said Thursday that he spoke with Quick on Saturday, “so it came as a surprise to me when she resigned Monday. I was very disappointed to see her resign. I think she did an outstanding job for the county.”
Chau said Quick’s resignation was a “great loss” to the county.
Kim said multiple members of his staff have been threatened since the beginning of the pandemic.
Chau modified the mask mandate on Thursday to make it a “strong recommendation” instead. He said he changed it based on new state guidelines regarding face coverings, not because of push back from the community. He said the mask order should remain in place for another three weeks to see if there is an uptick that exceeds state standards as the county reopens businesses.
Chau said the rate of new cases and the ability to handle a surge of patients in the county’s hospitals are the two key metrics he is tracking. He wants to remain below the state standard of 8% of positive cases per 100,000 population. The county’s current rate is 4.6%.