The Orange County Health Care Agency has released their latest update regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Orange County now has 42 documented cases of COVID-19. We were at 22 cases in their last report – the figure has almost doubled in one day.

The cases include 22 Travel Related victims, 7 Person to Person Spread and 12 Community Acquired. The latter are a major concern as these are people getting sick with no direct connection to another victim. They are getting sick and don’t know how they came into contact with the virus.

The total number of people tested by HCA Public Health Lab (PHL) and by commercial labs is 457. HCA PHL has kits available to test 990 specimens.

Some key points include:

• High-risk populations which include older adults (ages 65 and higher) as well as people who have serious, chronic medical conditions (like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease) are at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. These individuals should self-isolate at home.
• Residents should practice good health hygiene which includes washing your hands, staying home if you are sick, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue or your sleeve (not hands).
• Minimizing risk through social distancing whenever possible which includes avoiding attendance at large gatherings (250 people or more). Small gatherings should be limited to no more than 10 people and provide social distancing of six feet per person.
• Maintain vigilance and personal readiness which includes being prepared if there is COVID-19 in your household or a disruption of daily activities in your community. For example, maintain a supply of medications, food and other essentials in your house.
• Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, stay home while you are ill. If you need to seek medical care, call your health care provider first so that appropriate precautions can be taken.