By City News Service
Jan 1, 2021
SANTA ANA (CNS) - Orange County saw a slight dip in the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 Thursday, but the intensive-care unit population continues to grow amid a regional surge in virus infections.
The county s new daily case numbers were lower than usual, with the Orange County Health Care Agency stating that previous issues with the state s data-reporting system led to some new infections that would ordinarily be reported on Thursday being included in Wednesday s report.
As a result, the county reported only 610 new cases on Thursday, a dramatic drop from Wednesday s near-record 4,514. The new cases lifted the county s cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 157,183.
OC jails must reduce inmate population after appeals court rejects sheriff
KABC
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) Hundreds of inmates in the Orange County jail could soon be released due to coronavirus.
The ACLU says an appeals court has just denied an effort by Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes to stop the release of half of the jail population. Sheriff Barnes must comply with the order and submit a plan to reduce the jail population. Doing so will save lives, the ACLU tweeted.
Earlier this month, an inmate died from COVID-19. The county has had 1,246 infected inmates as of Tuesday.
By City News Service
Dec 30, 2020
SANTA ANA (CNS) - A panel of appellate court justices rejected a writ from Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes to suspend a lower court ruling ordering a halving of the county s jail population to better conform with COVID-19 health guidelines.
Presiding Justice Kathleen O Leary of the Fourth District Court of Appeals, Division 3, authored the ruling with Justice Raymond Ikola concurring and Justice David Thompson dissenting.
The justices noted that Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson s order issued earlier this month did not order Barnes to cut the jail population in half before a scheduled Jan. 8 hearing.
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Like other cities in Orange County and around the world, Newport Beach is not alone in its experiences in a year shaped largely by the ongoing pandemic and sweeping shutdown orders.
The city saw beach closures, tragedy, new members of its City Council, a presidential visit, an agreement for a homeless shelter and the cancellation of a time-honored Christmas tradition as part of a number of events that rocked 2020.
Here are some of the top stories of Newport Beach in 2020:
A woman prays at a makeshift memorial for Lakers legend Kobe Bryant outside Pelican Crest, the gated community in Newport Coast where Bryant lived with his family. His daughter Gianna, 13, died with him in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes gave an overview of the issues faced by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department over the course of 2020 in a FacebookLive video on December 30.
OCSD has been extremely active over the course of the year, dealing with major challenges such as COVID-19, protests following the death of George Floyd, and coordinating with the Orange County Fire Authority with fire-related issues.
Sheriff Barnes spoke specifically about the current controversy regarding a court order to release 1,800 inmates due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a move that has been challenged by Barnes with the support of numerous cities across the county as well as public officials such as Supervisor Michelle Steel.