File Image: Bringing in medication Registered Nurse Joan Pung, weaves her way through IV lines in a covid positive patients room inside the ICU at Providence St. Jude Medical Center Christmas Day on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 in Fullerton, CA. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Orange County health officials Monday reported another 29 COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the death toll to 2,120.
The death reports are staggered and sometimes takes weeks to be logged, but it's clear now that December was the deadliest month for the county since the pandemic began, with 410 fatalities reported so far.
That tops the summer peak when 379 died in July and 367 succumbed to coronavirus in August. according to Orange County Health Care Agency statistics.
Last week, the county reported 140 COVID-19 fatalities. Since Sunday, the county has reported 79 deaths.
The county also reported 3,259 new COVID-19 diagnoses on Monday, raising the cumulative total to 191,861.
The number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus edged up from 2,216 on Sunday to 2,221, matching Saturday's count. The number of intensive care unit patients dipped down from a record 547 on Sunday to 544.
Of Monday's 29 reported deaths, seven were skilled nursing facility residents and three resided in assisted living facilities. Since the pandemic began, 699 skilled nursing facility residents and 235 assisted living facility residents have died.
There were 26,231 tests reported Monday, raising the cumulative total to 2,283,663, according to the OCHCA.
County officials are working on setting up two ``super sites,'' which will be announced this week, where vaccines will be distributed. Orange County CEO Frank Kim said it is an effort to help hospitals dole out vaccines, as doctors and nurses are too overwhelmed with caring for patients now.
Sheriff's officials reported a steep decline in the number of Orange County Jail inmates infected with coronavirus, putting the number at 279, which includes 25 newly booked prisoners. At the apparent peak of the outbreak late last month, 1,246 were infected.
Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Breckner said seven inmates are currently hospitalized and the department is awaiting the results of 1,167 tests.
The county's state-adjusted ICU bed availability remains at zero, an the unadjusted figure is 5.9%. The state created the adjusted metric to reflect the difference in beds available for COVID-19 patients and non-coronavirus patients.
The Southern California region is at zero ICU availability.
The county has 35% of its ventilators available.
