Orange County officials are expressing growing concern about the spread of the coronavirus amid a nationwide surge caused by the highly contagious Delta variant. As of Tuesday, 495 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Orange County, the highest number in about six months and nearly five times the number from a month ago when 102 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals on July 10. Still, the recent number is far below the peak of the winter surge, when 2,259 people were hospitalized in Orange County's hospitals. Over the last week, Orange County has reported an average of 685 new coronavirus cases per day, according to data compiled by The Times. That's more than a four-fold increase since mid-July, though still well below the case counts the region was regularly seeing during the height of the fall-and-winter surge. Health officials are again calling on residents to get vaccinated. "Very few of us are going to get out [of the pandemic] without either getting COVID illness or getting vaccinated," said Dr. Matthew Zahn, Orange County's deputy health officer and a pediatric infectious disease expert. "And, clearly, getting vaccinated is the safer, healthier way for us to go." Added Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County's deputy health officer: "We are hoping that this information is informing people to make the decision to really protect themselves and their loved ones and to mask up, especially in public areas indoors. And if you're in crowded areas outdoors ... you should consider wearing a mask." California Rate of positive coronavirus tests rises in Orange County as it falls in L.A. County The rate at which coronavirus tests are coming back positive has fallen in the last week in Los Angeles County but is expected to rise further in Orange County. Aug. 11, 2021 Orange County's test positivity rate is 8.3%, Chinsio-Kwong said. And in a sign of potential trouble, the positivity rate is rising in the neediest areas of the county and was 8.9% on Wednesday, up from 8.6% the day before. Because the test positivity rate is rising in lower-income areas, "my concern is that we're going to continue to see the adjusted case rate increase," Chinsio-Kwong said.