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Riverside County on Monday reported a record number of coronavirus patients being treated at area hospitals.
The addition of 87 new patients over the weekend brought the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations across the county to 585, from 498 on Friday, according to the Riverside University Health System. That number includes 129 patients treated in intensive care units – 14 from Friday.
The previous record of 550 hospitalizations was set in July, according to RUHS data.
With 2,126 more cases reported on Monday – the agency does not release updated figures over the weekend – the total number of infections recorded across the county since the start of the public health documentation period in early March is 84,412 , compared to 82,286 on Friday.
Health officials also reported five more deaths, bringing the death toll to 1,442.
The number of known active virus cases across the county was 15,665, an increase of 1,518 from Friday. The active tally is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total – 84,412 – according to the county executive office. The number of verified patient cures is 67,305.
With the total number of cases increasing statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom today warned that a stay-at-home order could potentially be issued soon unless the trend is reversed.
In Riverside County last week, a briefing to public health officials focused on the spike in infections. RUHS’s Dr Geoffrey Leung said hospitals across the region were “starting to feel the strain,” but added that hospitals were prepared for an influx of patients.
“I think this (push) will be a little different,” said Leung, referring to the amount of preparation that has taken place over the summer to ensure that facilities have the resources to deal with the situation. heavier workloads.
This sentiment was echoed by County Emergency Management Department Director Bruce Barton, who recently assured the supervisory board last Tuesday that facilities have access to sufficient personal protective equipment and have made arrangements for a excess capacity if and when necessary.
Leung said residents who have any type of critical medical need should not delay care because facilities follow protocols to separate the contagious from the non-contagious.
The county’s previous peak in hospitalizations occurred in mid-July. RUHS officials said if current trends continue, that number will be surpassed in December.
The county has more than 1,000 general and intensive care beds, but that doesn’t include emergency capacity, in which hospital floors are converted into intensive care spaces, adding more beds as needed.
Public Health Department Director Kim Saruwatari last week said the county’s state-adjusted COVID-19 case rate was 27.2 per 100,000, up from 22 per 100,000 population ago. was three weeks old, and a state-calculated overall positivity rate of 9.9%, up from 8.9%.
The county’s test level is 300 per 100,000. The revised state threshold for large counties is 272 per 100,000.
Officials are asking people to avoid Thanksgiving gatherings. Tony Shin reported on NBC4 News on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
Last month, the California Department of Public Health reclassified the county to the purple level, the most restrictive under the Gavin Newsom government’s regulatory framework for a safer economy. For about a month, the county had been in the slightly less strict red level. Some entities that had reopened have had to close again, including gymnasiums, restaurants, cinemas and churches.
Two weeks ago, Newsom placed 28 counties in the purple level, based on a 50% increase in statewide coronavirus cases, which the governor said was “the fastest increase in cases we have ever seen “.
He then went further by issuing a revised decree imposing a nighttime curfew, from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., which began on November 21 in the counties of the Violet Level, as part of a mitigation strategy. viruses. The ordinance remains in effect until December 21. However, many law enforcement agencies said they did not intend to execute him.
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