Riverside County COVID-19 Figures Continue Slowing

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Data on COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths are not published over the weekend in Riverside County, but figures released Monday show a continued slowdown in infections.

According to the Riverside University Health System, 80 people countywide were hospitalized Monday with coronavirus, three more than Friday. The figure includes 16 ICU patients, down two from the end of last week.

According to RUHS, the total 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.

One week ago on April 26, the county reported 77 COVID-19 hospitalizations, including 17 ICU patients. Total cases were reported at 298,001, and deaths numbered 4,559.

On Tuesday, the state will update county "tier assignments" based on positivity and cases rates as part of its Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Currently, Riverside County is in the "orange tier."

The county's coronavirus positivity rate last Tuesday was reported at 2.1 percent, and the case rate was 3.9 cases per 100,000 residents. (To find out how to get tested for the virus, click here.)

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 last week 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 last week.

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 helpline.

—City News Service