The number of COVID-positive patients in Riverside County hospitals continued to decline, falling from 147 to 144, according to the latest figures.
Of those patients, 22 were in intensive care, down from 24 the previous day, according to the Riverside University Health System.
The county’s number of COVID hospitalizations had climbed as high as 1,109 in mid-January during a surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant, but has been steadily declining since then.
Local health officials reported another 12 virus-related deaths Thursday, bringing the county’s total to 6,365 since the pandemic began.
Fatalities are considered trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates, meaning some deaths may have actually occurred weeks ago, according to health officials.
The RUHS on Thursday also reported 188 new positive COVID tests. The aggregate number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began is 593,601.
The number of known active virus cases in the county was 28,293 Thursday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 593,601. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 558,943.