Riverside County Braces For Sunday Night Shutdown

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The availability of intensive care unit beds in Southern California has dropped under the threshold to trigger a regional stay-at-home order, according to figures released Friday evening by the California Department of Public Health.

The 11-county region's ICU available capacity was 13.1 percent because of the growing number of coronavirus cases. If it remains under 15 percent by 12:59 p.m. Saturday the Regional Stay at Home Order will go into effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday under the order issued Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The Southern California region consists of Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, , Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

When the regional stay-at-home order announced by Newsom Thursday is triggered, it will be in place for at least three weeks and will bar gatherings of people from different households. Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities will be required to close:
-- indoor and outdoor playgrounds;
-- indoor recreational facilities;
-- hair salons and barbershops;
-- personal care services;
-- museums, zoos and aquariums;
-- movie theaters;
-- wineries;
-- bars, breweries and distilleries;
-- family entertainment centers;
-- cardrooms and satellite wagering;
-- limited services;
-- live audience sports; and
-- amusement parks.

Schools with waivers will be allowed to remain open, along with "critical infrastructure" and retail stores, which will be limited to 20 percent of capacity. Restaurants will be restricted to takeout and delivery service only. Hotels would be allowed to open "for critical infrastructure support only," while churches would be restricted to outdoor-only services. Entertainment production — including professional sports — would be allowed to continue without live audiences.

For the sixth day in a row, Riverside County Friday reported a record number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 countywide, along with 1,148 newly confirmed cases and 15 additional deaths.

The total number of infections recorded countywide since the public health documentation period began in early March is 87,945, compared to 86,797 on Thursday, according to the Riverside University Health System.

Officials said the number of deaths stemming from complications related to COVID-19 stands at 1,472.

The number of COVID-19-positive hospitalizations countywide increased by nine, up to 658 on Friday, compared to 649 on Wednesday, including 135 intensive care unit patients — 11 more than a day ago.

Riverside County set a hospitalization record of 573 COVID-19 patients on Sunday, according to RUHS spokesman Jose Arballo. In the days since, the numbers have continued to rise.

Prior to this week, the previous record-high of coronavirus hospitalizations was 550, set in July, when the first "surge" was documented, according to RUHS data.

Riverside County ICU beds were at 17 percent availability, or 83 percent capacity, county spokesperson Brooke Federico said Thursday.

The county Emergency Management Department has not reported any medical facility at or over capacity. However, the CEO of Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley told City News Service Wednesday that bed space could become an issue if the current trend continues, despite extensive preparations for a second-wave surge. Staffing shortages are also a growing concern at the hospital, which is the largest treatment facility in the western county region.

During a pre-Thanksgiving briefing last week, RUHS Dr. Geoffrey Leung said hospitals throughout the region "are starting to feel the strain."