Riverside County health officials Friday reported a dozen additional deaths thought connected to the coronavirus, raising the county’s virus-related death toll to 1,367, as the number of hospitalizations continued to edge up.
The 12 newly confirmed virus-related deaths includes patients who were between 66 and 87 years old, according to Riverside University Health System spokesman Jose Arballo, who added that the fatalities occurred as far back as Sept. 29.
Officials additionally reported Friday 639 newly confirmed cases, bringing the aggregate number of infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March to 74,180, compared to 73,541 on Thursday, RUHS data shows.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to trend upward as well. There were 15 additional hospitalizations reported countywide on Friday, bringing the total to 286, which includes 65 intensive care unit patients — two fewer than the day before.
By comparison, there were 208 COVID-positive hospitalizations reported last Friday.
The new figures come days after County Emergency Management Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that virus-related hospitalizations “continue to trend up.”
“We’ve had outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities,” he said. “We’re making sure they have appropriate personal protective equipment.”
Barton said nine patients are from the state prison system, with which the Riverside University Health System has a contract. Three patients from Imperial County are also in area medical facilities, but Barton did not know whether additional transfers from Imperial may be imminent.
The county’s peak in hospitalizations occurred in mid-July, when nearly 600 COVID-positive patients were under general or intensive care. The low point was near the beginning of the hospital reporting period in late March, when Barton said 119 were hospitalized.
The number of known active virus cases countywide is 8,445, an increase of 459 from a day earlier. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total of 74,180, according to the county Executive Office. The number of verified patient recoveries is 64,368.
The countywide testing rate is now 232.9 per 100,000. However, the newly revised California Department of Public Health threshold for large counties is 272.41, meaning jurisdictions short of that are penalized when they are rated under the standards established as part of the governor’s color-coded, tiered regulatory framework. The previous testing benchmark set by the state was 239.1.
The county’s overall COVID-19 positivity rate is at 6.7%, compared to 5.9% two weeks ago.
Nearly four weeks ago, the CDPH reclassified the county in the purple tier, the most restrictive under the COVID-19 regulatory framework, meaning some businesses that had reopened were required to close again. The designation impacts offices, gyms, restaurants, movie theaters and places of worship.