Significant lane restrictions, road closures and increased police presence will highlight Easter Sunday in Santa Ana in an attempt to ward off the annual Easter night car cruising, police said. The Santa Ana Police Department is doubling the number of officers on the street and looking for infractions, the department said. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, no gatherings or spectators…

Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Freidenrich Monday announced she cannot do anything to delay property taxes, which are due on Friday, but residents may apply for relief from late-payment fines if they can demonstrate their income was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “I understand and sympathize with the financial impacts that COVID-19 may have had on our taxpayers,” Freidenrich said….

Orange County health officials reported 49 more cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, but no new deaths, putting the county’s totals at 834 cases and 14 deaths. Sunday’s total is a welcome decline from the 75 cases reported Saturday. The number of hospitalized patients increased to 137, however the number of patients in intensive care decreased to 56 Sunday from 71…

After Blinking Owl’s tasting room sales ended due to the coronavirus, they began to convert their high-proof spirits into hand sanitizer. Angie Crouch reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2020.

A man convicted of sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl in a unique jury trial utilizing social distancing in the closed-to-the-public Central Justice Center in Santa Ana is facing 50 years to life in prison. Arthur William Robert Callender, 23, of Buena Park, was found guilty Wednesday of two felony counts of sexual intercourse with a child younger than 10, according…

With many businesses shut down, construction kicks up a gear. Vikki Vargas reported on NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

Orange County officials outlined Tuesday what hospitals and health authorities are doing to prepare for an expected surge of coronavirus patients in the coming weeks. “For Orange County, the surge we’re anticipating is probably going to be in two or three weeks, probably early May,” Orange County Healthcare Director Richard Sanchez, who is poised to take over as CalOptima’s...

A 69-year-old inmate at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana died after possibly contracting the coronavirus, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday night. The man was pronounced dead about 3 p.m. Sunday at a hospital where he was taken on Friday from the jail “due to medical issues resulting from underlying health issues,” OCSD Public Affairs Director...

Dozens of people came to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library to donate blood Monday, March 30, 2020. The drive will continue from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday and April 8.

It was not clear what caused the ship to keel over. Vikki Vargas reports for NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020.

A tall ship used as a classroom began sinking overnight in Dana Point Harbor, officials at the Ocean Institute said Sunday. “We are very sad to announce that Pilgrim, our beloved vessel that has served as an inspiring real-world classroom to hundreds of thousands of students and visitors, keeled overnight in her slip on our dock, rendering her useful life…

Orange County health officials reported 28 more coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing the total number to 431. No new deaths were reported, leaving the county’s total at four. The first death was reported Tuesday and involved a 75-year-old man who was hospitalized March 17 and died two days later. Two deaths were reported Friday and a fourth was reported Saturday, but…

Orange County’s number of coronavirus cases jumped to 403 Saturday as another 85 cases were confirmed, the largest daily increase yet. Another death was reported too, bringing the county’s coronavirus death toll to four. No information was immediately released about the latest fatality. Two deaths were reported Friday. The county’s first coronavirus fatality was reported Tuesday and involved a...

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library will host four blood drives over the next three weeks to meet an urgent demand for blood donations amid the coronavirus pandemic, library officials said Saturday. The drives — sponsored by the government of Qatar “as a tribute tothe American people and alliance between the two countries” — are being coordinated by the American Red…

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes has announced he will soon begin releasing inmates with 60 days or less to go on their sentences in an effort to reduce the population of the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana during an outbreak of the coronavirus. Barnes has the authority to begin releasing inmates, but went to court Friday afternoon to get…

A Rancho Santa Margarita physician who helped develop a medical kit that can help doctors diagnose coronavirus said Wednesday he is hoping to accelerate federal approval of the invention to help patients and doctors during the pandemic. Dr. Samir Qamar, who has offices in Las Vegas and Rancho Santa Margarita, helped lead a team of medical engineers in 2014 to…

An inmate in the Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana tested positive Tuesday for the coronavirus, the first Orange County inmate stricken with the virus, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said. The inmate, whose name was not released, is in his 40s. He recently showed symptoms of the flu and was placed in isolation, said Carrie Braun of the Orange County...

Officials are also considering closing beaches as neighboring counties have. Vikki Vargas reports for the NBC4 News at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, 2020.

Authorities Tuesday were investigating the death of an inmate housed at the Theo Lacy Facility in Orange, who died at a hospital after a test for COVID-19 came up negative following his isolation for “flu-like symptoms.” The 43-year old man was booked into the Orange County Jail on March 13 to serve time for a DUI conviction, said Carrie Braun…

Officials with The Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County said they provided free food for at least 4,000 needy households Saturday at greater risk during the coronavirus, and are preparing to provide for another 6,000 homes next Saturday. The food bank’s CEO, Harald Herrmann, said he arrived at the Honda Center at 6:45 a.m. to prepare for a 7…