The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Orange County decreased by one to 112, according to the latest state data released Saturday.
Of those patients, 15 were being treated in intensive care, an increase of six from the previous day.
The county has 26% of its ICU beds available. Officials grow concerned that percentage drops below 20%.
Local health officials said the county’s COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations have declined since last week. The Orange County Health Care Agency, which provides weekly updates on Thursdays, reported that the county’s test positivity rate went from 6.6% last week to 5.9%, with the statistic going from 7.3% to 5% in the health equity quartile, which measures the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.
The daily case rate per 100,000 dropped from 6.6 to 5.4 on seven-day average with a seven-day lag, and from 7 to 5.6 in the adjusted daily case rate per 100,000 on a seven-day average with a seven-day lag.
The county logged 1,427 cases in its most recent data, which covers the period from Oct. 13-19, increasing the cumulative case count to 672,033.
Seven additional fatalities linked to the coronavirus were also reported, bringing the cumulative death toll to 7,495 since the pandemic began. Five of the fatalities occurred this month, increasing the death toll for October to 12. Two of the fatalities occurred in September, increasing its death toll to 65.
Health officials have noted that the majority of COVID fatalities involve elderly people and those with underlying health conditions, including heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.