SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County witnessed an increase in homeless deaths over the past five years, according to Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) Director Clayton Chau. The cause of deaths among the homeless population remains unknown, Chau said, as he debunked the myth that the homeless were dying from COVID-19. He cited the 390 homeless individuals that passed away in 2021 with only a dozen dying from COVID-19. “I want to make sure that I dispel that myth, but we’ve been working with the coroner’s office to look at the data and see what are the cause of death—ranging from homicide to suicide to accidental death to chronic health condition.” To respond to the crisis, OCHCA is partnering with insurance provider CalOptima to increase health care access to the homeless population—a project that will be announced at a later date. “The goal of the project is really to get people …