Riverside County health officials Tuesday reported 907 more confirmed coronavirus cases, along with one new death stemming from COVID-19.
The aggregate coronavirus case count stretching back to early March, when the documentation period began, is now 30,890, compared to 29,983 on Monday, according to the Riverside University Health System. The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 now stands at 589.
The number of known active virus cases countywide is 19,243, up 643 from Monday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 30,890 — according to the county Executive Office.
Health officials said the number of confirmed patient recoveries is 11,058. The county defines a recovery as someone who hasn’t manifested symptoms for 14 days.
According to RUHS, 536 people are hospitalized for COVID-19, up from 507 on Monday. The hospitalization number includes 135 patients in intensive care units, up from 131 the previous day.
The county has the third-most cumulative cases in California, behind only Los Angeles and Orange counties. Riverside County’s total deaths, however, still rank second behind only Los Angeles County.
Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the Board of Supervisors last week that the average positivity rate among those screened for the virus countywide is at 20%, two and a half times the preferred state threshold of 8%.
The doubling time — or the number of days in which documented virus cases increase 100% — is now at 24.3 days. A doubling rate of seven days is considered severe.
Most of the county’s fatalities stemming from complications tied to COVID-19 have been people between the ages of 65 and 84, according to RUHS.
As of Monday, out of all the patients being treated in Riverside County, only two are from neighboring Imperial County, the site of a coronavirus outbreak that overwhelmed that county’s two hospitals, forcing about 500 patients to be transferred to other locales.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, said Monday the county is in the midst of a surge that should not be blamed on Imperial County.
“We are experiencing a real local community spread surge that requires real local community awareness and responsibility to stop the surge,” Ruiz, who is also an emergency room doctor, posted on Facebook.
“Blaming the surge on Imperial County patients is not based on evidence and the misinformation diminishes the urgency and need to take local public health precautions that will help our local community stop the surge.”
Newsom on Friday ordered all school campuses to remain closed when the new school year begins in 32 counties on the state’s monitoring list due to spiking coronavirus cases — which includes Riverside County — signaling that local districts will be required to begin the new school year with distance- learning programs.
Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, is among opponents of the school closures and has proposed legislation to annul the governor’s emergency powers authority based on public health.