The number of COVID-positive patients in Riverside County hospitals dropped from 601 to 565 according to state data Friday.
Of those patients in the hospital, 110 were in intensive care, down from 118 reported by the Riverside University Health System Thursday.
The RUHS did not report numbers on Friday. Meanwhile, local health officials reported 25 additional COVID-19 deaths Thursday, leaving the county’s death toll at 6,030 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 2,065 new cases of COVID-19. The aggregate number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020 is 579,107.
The number of known active virus cases in the county was 121,854 Thursday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 579,107. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 451,223.
State officials announced Monday that the indoor mask-wearing requirement for vaccinated people will expire at the end of the day Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the move is the result of a 65% drop in the infection rate since the peak of the winter surge caused by the Omicron variant, as well as a stabilization in hospitalization numbers.
But he stressed that “unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors.” The mask-wearing requirement will also remain in effect for everyone in select indoor locations, such as public transit centers, airports, schools, emergency shelters, health care facilities, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care and senior care facilities.
Unvaccinated people will have to continue wearing masks in indoor settings such as retail stores, restaurants, theaters and government offices.
The change in state policy will affect counties that do not have local mandates of their own governing face coverings — such as Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties. Neighboring Los Angeles County has its own indoor mask-wearing mandate, and those rules will remain in place in that county for the time being.
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