Nearly 500 people have died of coronavirus in Orange County as number of cases continues to surge

Posted: Jul 18, 2020 / 06:13 PM PDT

Updated: Jul 18, 2020 / 06:13 PM PDT

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Orange County reported 25 more deaths connected to the novel coronavirus on Saturday, the third-highest day on record as the number of confirmed cases continues to surge.

Health officials said that 109 deaths have been reported in the last two weeks, and 494 since the pandemic began. The deaths reported Saturday included seven people who lived in institutional settings such as nursing homes.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases countywide climbed to 29,011, with 702 new cases reported Saturday. The number of infections in Orange County has grown dramatically over the last month, and is now second only to Los Angeles County.

Across California, transmission rates for coronavirus continued to rise. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 375,000 Friday, and the number of deaths exceeded 7,600.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.