Orange County reported 1,355 new cases of COVID-19 and 44 additional deaths Sunday, bringing the county’s totals to 232,391 cases and 3,062 fatalities.
The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals continued its downward trend, declining from 1,442 Saturday to 1,412, with the number of patients in intensive care dropping from 394 to 392.
The county’s state-adjusted ICU bed availability remains at zero, and the unadjusted figure decreased slightly from 9.9% Saturday to 9.8%.
The state created the adjusted metric to reflect the difference in beds available for COVID-19 patients and non-coronavirus patients. The county has 48% of its ventilators available.
Of the fatalities reported Sunday, three were residents of skilled nursing facilities and six were residents of assisted living facilities. Since the pandemic began, 830 residents of skilled nursing facilities have died from the virus, along with 320 residents of assisted living facilities.
The death reports are staggered because they come from a variety of sources and are not always logged immediately.
The Orange County Health Care Agency reported 16,044 tests on Sunday, for a total of 2,681,673. There have been 175,513 documented recoveries, according to the OCHCA.
The county’s large-scale vaccination site at Disneyland, which was shut down Friday because of stormy weather, reopened Saturday. Vaccines were also being doled out at an indoor site at Soka University in Aliso Viejo.
Orange County CEO Frank Kim said last week he was frustrated that officials don’t have a long-term view of when more vaccines will arrive.
“We need an estimate two weeks out,” Kim said. “That would address a lot of concerns people have. We can’t schedule beyond two or three days out.”
Kim said hospitals are also ramping up inoculations.
Outbreaks — defined as at least two cases over the past two weeks — were reported in 26 skilled nursing facilities and 37 elderly assisted living facilities in the county as of Friday.
Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa — which was set up to handle overflow from local hospitals — was treating 30 patients, 20 from Orange County, seven from Los Angeles County, two from Riverside County and one San Bernardino County.
Beginning Monday, the county will offer eligible rental households up to $10,000 in financial assistance for unpaid rent and/or utility bills due to the impact of the pandemic, according to the OCHCA. More information about the program can be found at era.211oc.org/, or by calling 211.