Orange County COVID-19 hospitalizations remain stable Friday

Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and UC Irvine [associate] professor of population health and disease prevention, said with hospitalizations holding steady since Wednesday, it could mean the county has seen the worst of this latest surge. “We may have found the peak of this wave,” Noymer said. “It remains to be seen if that’s the case, but we’re heading in the right direction. Still, it’s too early to call.” The percentage of positive cases “was a bit up again today, but that’s a volatile number,” Noymer said. “Ultimately, hospitalizations are the key metric,” Noymer said. “I’m pleased to see that it looks like we may be finding a top to hospital numbers … It will be interesting to see what happens Monday.”