The number of coronavirus infections confirmed in Riverside County increased by 1,668 over the weekend, with seven additional deaths stemming from virus complications, amid a general statewide upswing in COVID cases that prompted the governor Monday to announce a tightening of economic restrictions.
“California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes.”
He said he has applied an “emergency brake” on the color-coded Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which entails a four-stage tier structure to lower the regulatory bar and allow economic sectors to reopen.
The county is already in the lowest tier, “purple,” impacting offices, gyms, restaurants, movie theaters and places of worship.
The Board of Supervisors will discuss the governor’s action during its meeting Tuesday.
The aggregate number of infections recorded countywide since the public health documentation period began in early March was 75,848 on Monday, compared to 74,180 on Friday, according to the Riverside University Health System. No data was reported over the weekend.
Officials said the number of deaths believed to be related to COVID-19 stands at 1,374.
County Emergency Management Director Bruce Barton told the board last Tuesday that virus-related hospitalizations “continue to trend up.”
The number of COVID-positive hospitalizations is at 310, up 24 from Friday, including 78 intensive care unit patients, 13 more than last week.
Barton said some patients are coming into county medical facilities from the state prison system, with which the Riverside University Health System has a contract. Three patients from Imperial County were also in area medical facilities last week, but Barton did not know whether additional transfers from Imperial were imminent.
The county’s peak in hospitalizations occurred in mid-July, when nearly 600 COVID-positive patients were under general and 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 9,552, an increase of 1,107 compared to Friday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 75,848 — according to the county Executive Office. The number of verified patient recoveries is 64,922.
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’re rated under the standards established as part of the 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.
In mid-October, the CDPH reclassified the county in the purple tier, after it had been in the slightly less restrictive “red” tier for almost a month
More information is available at covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/.