Riverside County Coronavirus Update: Cases, Deaths, Vaccines

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County Wednesday reported another 10 deaths attributed to the coronavirus, along with a slight increase in new infections.

The total number of fatalities from virus-related complications recorded over the past year increased to 4,514, according to the Riverside University Health System, which reported another 107 virus cases Wednesday for a cumulative total of 296,908.

RUHS figures show 94 coronavirus patients in hospitals countywide, down one from Tuesday. That figure includes 23 intensive care unit patients, up one from a day ago.

The number of known active virus cases countywide is 2,166, down 83. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 296,908 — according to the county Executive Office.

County health officials told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that Riverside County is making gains toward the goal of "herd immunity" against coronavirus, as reflected by data, while reiterating that the virus remains a threat.

"We are in a better place today than we were several months ago," county Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung told the board. "We do believe many people have had COVID, and they now have some natural immunity."

Leung said Riverside County residents should still get inoculated, saying that a person who gets infected — even after being immunized — is "less likely to pass that on to somebody else."

More than 1.3 million COVID vaccines have been administered in Riverside County, according to county data. That has resulted in roughly 70 percent of residents 65 years and older — who are at the highest risk for hospitalization or death from COVID-19 — being immunized, according to Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari.

According to Saruwatari, the county's coronavirus positivity rate is unchanged this week at 2 percent, and the state-adjusted case rate is 3.6 per 100,000 people, which reflects a rolling seven-day average. Last week, it was 3.5 per 100,000.

More county businesses were able to open last Wednesday amid lighter restrictions due to the county entering the orange tier of the state's public health regulatory system. The county had been in the red tier of the "Blueprint for a Safer Economy" framework 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 percent 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 percent caps.

Beginning Thursday, receptions and conferences can be held with up to 150 attendees, on the condition that they, at minimum, be tested for coronavirus.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last Tuesday that the target date for an end to all restrictions on businesses, gatherings and recreation throughout the state is June 15 — provided there are no signs of a backward slide.

The county's metrics are squarely in the orange qualifier, but still just outside the parameters set for yellow tier status, which represents "minimal" presence of the virus.

Of the three brands of vaccinations that had been available countywide — Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer — the J&J product has been temporarily suspended, Leung told the board, because of U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention findings of possible deadly blood clots developing post-vaccination.

RUHS will await further federal guidance before deciding whether to lift the suspension. Leung said the other products are still available.

The portal to make an appointment for vaccinations 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.