SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations dipped by more than 20 on Sept. 1, dropping from 556 to 534—a welcome piece of good news in the metric that many health experts consider the most important in tracking the ongoing pandemic. The number of COVID patients in county intensive care units dropped from 150 to 149, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. The county has 22.2 percent of its ICU beds available and 68 percent of its ventilators. “The hospitalization numbers look great,” Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and UC Irvine professor of population health and disease prevention, told City News Service. “The percent positivity is good. I don’t want to say it’s great, but certainly moving in the right direction. Overall, the numbers look good. I’m somewhat surprised given school has started, but as I’ve said a million times before, we often get surprised by these things.” The OCHCA …