The number of COVID-positive patients in Riverside County hospitals dropped from 472 to 432 Thursday, while 18 new COVID-related deaths were reported.
Of those patients hospitalized, 92 were in intensive care, down from 93 reported on Wednesday, according to the Riverside University Health System.
The 18 additional COVID-19 deaths reported by health officials Thursday bring the county’s virus-related death toll to 6,131 since the pandemic began.
Fatalities are considered trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates, meaning some deaths may have actually occurred weeks ago, according to health officials.
The RUHS on Thursday also reported 399 new cases of COVID-19. The aggregate number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020 is 585,595.
The number of known active virus cases in the county was 108,190 Thursday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 585,595. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 471,274.