According to the agency, COVID-related hospitalizations countywide were at 1,023 Monday, up 16 from Sunday, and that includes 152 ICU patients, down three from a day ago.
Officials said the aggregate number of COVID cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020 is 423,848.
On Friday, the Riverside University Health System reported that a total 5,671 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded in the last 22 months. The fatalities are trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates and can go back weeks, according to health officials.
The number of known active virus cases in the county, based on available data, is 17,608. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 423,848 — according to the county Executive Office. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 400,569.
The aggregate number of COVID-related hospitalizations countywide is roughly 40% below the peak count reached a year ago last week, during the previous virus spike, when about 1,700 virus cases were recorded among hospitalized patients, according to RUHS.
County Emergency Management Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that while the current COVID numbers are concerning, hospitals are contending with a range of patients suffering other illnesses, with only about 30% of emergency room visits stemming from coronavirus since the start of the year.
“There’s a larger non-COVID census laying on top of that COVID patient load,” he told the supervisors, without specifying the most prevalent maladies.
RUHS will resume reporting positivity rates and other data Wednesday, following the MLK holiday.