Today, the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) released its official counts of confirmed COVID-19 cases in each Orange County city, including for our community here in the City of Huntington Beach. Based on that release, as of Friday, March 27, there are 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Surf City. Additional OCHCA information on this matter can be found online at https://coronavirus.egovoc.com/.
Moving ahead, we have been told that OCHCA will continue to update each city’s case count every Friday moving forward, and we will be sure to share that information with the community as it becomes made available. Furthermore, here at the City, we plan on using this more accurate data to better monitor transmission rates of COVID-19 in our City, and to better anticipate possible coronavirus impacts on our community and first responders.
Of note, the COVID-19 case count released by Orange County only includes cases that have been confirmed by a COVID-19 test administered by a medical professional. These counts do not reflect the total number of cases in the City, since testing is prioritized for patients who are most at risk or most ill. To that end, asymptomatic or mild cases will most likely not be tested, and therefore will not be included, in OCHCA’s city-by-city counts.
Also, as you review the information regarding COVID-19 cases in each Orange County city, it is important to keep the following factors in mind:
- City case counts are reflective of where cases live, not necessarily reflect where the transmission occurred.
- If a city is not listed as having a COVID-19 resident or shows low numbers of total cases, this does not indicate that the risk of transmission is low.
- Because transmission occurs throughout the country, it is important for all residents to practice social distancing, regardless of their city’s case count. Doing so will help reduce the spread of infection, ease the burden on our first responders and healthcare system, and protect our most vulnerable residents.
As Huntington Beach’s future case counts are released by the OCHCA, the information will be posted weekly on our COVID-19 informational website, www.HBready.com. If you have any questions regarding current City operations or services, please contact our COVID-19 Call Center at (714) 536-5511.
