The number of COVID-positive patients under intensive care in Riverside County dropped Monday, while the number of virus-related deaths was unchanged.
According to the Riverside University Health System, 80 people countywide are hospitalized with coronavirus, three more than Friday, but there are only 16 ICU patients diagnosed with the virus, down two from the end of last week.
No data was published over the weekend.
According to RUHS, the aggregate number of COVID cases recorded since the pandemic began in March 2020 is 298,572, up 122 from Friday.
A total 4,574 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded in the last 13 months. That figure was the same Friday.
The number of known active virus cases countywide is 1,632, down 140 from Friday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 298,572 — according to the county Executive Office. Verified patient recoveries countywide are at 292,366.
The coronavirus positivity rate was 2.1%, compared to 2.3% last week. The state-adjusted case rate was 3.9 per 100,000, based on a rolling seven-day average. Last week, it was 4.5 per 100,000.
County Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the Board of Supervisors last week that the current downtrend in virus cases points to gathering momentum toward recovery.
County Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung was optimistic, as well, telling the supervisors that “we’re in a better place than a month ago,” though he cautioned “a lot of work” remains ahead.
Since December, the county has administered more than 1.6 million doses of the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, according to RUHS. The latter one-dose immunization therapy had been briefly suspended under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory pertaining to negative reactions among a few patients. But the J&J product became available again a week ago.
More county businesses opened three weeks ago amid lighter restrictions due to the county entering the orange tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The county had been in the red tier since March 16, after five months in the most restrictive purple tier.
According to the California Department of Public Health, orange criteria permit retail businesses to fully open, while 50% attendance caps are supposed to be observed in restaurants, museums, movie theaters and zoos. The guidelines call for gyms, wineries and bars to maintain 25% caps.
The county’s metrics are squarely in the orange qualifier, but still just outside the parameters for yellow tier status.
The portal to make an appointment for a vaccine at county-run and other sites can be accessed via www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine. Anyone who needs assistance may also call the county’s 211 help line.