The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Nov. 29 to extend the county’s local health emergency for the respiratory virus known as RSV for another 30 days.
The emergency allows the county to access federal and state resources for assistance and seek mutual aid from neighboring counties.
The decision came after spokespersons for local medical facilities informed hospitals they are at maximum capacity with children affected by the virus.
Staff from Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) told supervisors they have had to move some emergency patients into inpatient beds to make room.
“Our emergency departments are full,” Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the county health officer, told supervisors. “[Hospitals] are exhausted and overwhelmed.”…