The number of known coronavirus infections throughout Riverside County increased by 474 Wednesday, and the number of deaths edged up one, according to the Riverside University Health System.
The new numbers bring the county’s totals to 7,319 active confirmed cases and 432 deaths.
The total number of infections documented since early March is 14,905. However, that figure is not representative of ongoing cases, but rather a snapshot of the aggregate impact of COVID-19 on the county, according to Executive Office spokeswoman Brooke Federico.
“If you subtract the number of deaths and the number of recoveries, you will get the currently known number of active cases,” she told City News Service.
The number of documented patient recoveries since March is 7,154.
RUHS data showed 314 people are hospitalized for COVID-19, 92 of whom are in intensive care units. Some of the patients are from Mexico and Imperial County, where large outbreaks have occurred, according to the Emergency Management Department.
EMD Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that 10 to 15 patients a day are being transferred from Imperial County to Riverside County and surrounding jurisdictions. However, fewer than a dozen of those patients are currently in medical facilities within the county.
Barton added that part of the surge in hospitalizations, which were below 250 a weeks ago, is attributable to COVID-19 outbreaks in state prisons in the region, which contract with the Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for care of inmates.
Sheriff Chad Bianco told the board Tuesday that the number of infections in the county correctional system was down to two, and those patients are asymptomatic. At one point, the caseload was over 200.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that Riverside is one of 11 counties the state is watching due to coronavirus surges. San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Imperial, Santa Barbara, Kern, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin counties were also listed.
According to the California Department of Public Health, in addition to outbreaks in state prisons, a higher number of COVID-19 cases in skilled nursing facilities and recent public protests involving large numbers of people were pushing infection rates up.
According to RUHS, 3,500 randomly selected residents will be asked to take part in antibody studies to determine whether they’ve been exposed and have already recovered from the virus. Residents cannot volunteer for the antibody research, and those who agree to participate after random sampling will have their blood drawn at one of nine sites countywide.
More information is available at www.rivcoph.org/antibodystudy.
Newsom last week ordered all California residents to wear face coverings in most settings outside their homes to help slow the spread of the virus. The statewide mandate requires residents to wear masks in “high-risk situations,” which cover virtually all scenarios.
Riverside County had previously rescinded its mask mandate, and it was unclear how closely the statewide directive would be enforced locally, if at all.
More county businesses opened their doors Friday as the coronavirus regulatory bar was lowered further, and the county continued its transition through stage 3 of the governor’s four-stage de-regulation framework tied to the health emergency.
Nail salons, facial and esthetician providers, shaving, waxing and threading businesses, massage therapy outlets and tattoo and piercing parlors countywide are now eligible to resume operation under guidelines specified by the California Department of Public Health.