Coronavirus Antibodies, Reopening, Stats: Riverside County Update

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside University Health System will begin a local coronavirus antibody study in the coming weeks, it was announced Friday during a news briefing.

Also, the county has met all but one of the state's "readiness criteria" for moving into an accelerated "phase 2" reopening of the local economy, Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez said during the briefing. The ongoing rise in coronavirus cases and deaths across the county are the only roadblocks to reopening faster under the state's phase 2 "regional variance" program, Perez said.

Despite the obstacle, shortly after Friday's briefing, the county announced it has notified Gov. Gavin Newsom that it is ready to "cautiously and safely open for business" based on public health data. A letter and "attestation" to state officials requesting the county be allowed to take the next step forward has been sent, according to the announcement. Read more about the request and read the letter: Riverside County Tells State: Ready To Safely, Cautiously Reopen

As the county works to reopen, seven more Riverside County residents have died from COVID-19 complications, bringing the county death toll to 242, the public health department reported Friday. Another 178 people have tested positive for the virus, bringing the total caseload to 5,618. Hospitalizations continue to decline — as of Friday, 184 patients were receiving care, 68 of them in ICU. Recoveries from the illness stand at 3,430.

Like Riverside County, more than 20 Northern California counties have "attested" to the state that they meet the criteria for an accelerated phase 2 reopening. Each has a much smaller population than Riverside County, and is no where near the level of COVID-19 testing. To date, 80,937 Riverside County residents representing more than 3.3% of the county's population have been tested for the virus.

Aggressive testing coupled with the fact that Riverside is the fourth largest county in California (population and land mass), make it hard to meet the state's "epidemiologic stability of COVID-19" criteria. The state wants zero COVID-19 deaths and no more than 1 case per 10,000 people in the past 14 days.

"It's almost impossible" to achieve, said Riverside County Second District Supervisor and Vice Chair Karen Spiegel, who also spoke during Friday's news briefing.

In the letter to Newsom and state officials, the county asks for a variance on that criteria. "In our opinion, the metrics are unrealistic for urban counties, and Riverside County in particular, where our geographic size and population make it impossible that no" COVID-19 death would take place during the 14-day period.

Instead, the letter states, "it is appropriate to adopt the federal epidemiology benchmarks," which the county said it is already achieving because of a downward trend in data.

The county has partnered with Orange, San Diego, and San Bernardino counties to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom that the region can safely reopen without perfectly aligning with the state's epidemiologic stability of COVID-19 criteria.

"I am hopeful the governor will meet with us," Perez said.

Dr. Geoffrey Leung, Riverside University Health System, said during Friday's briefing that despite the rising case numbers, the county has actually seen a decline in the rate of infection.

"The positivity rate has dropped," he explained.

Modeling presented by Leung showed the county's "doubling rate" of infections has slowed to about 24 days (the number of days it takes for the caseload to double). The current trajectory shows 6,500 COVID-19 infections, countywide, by the end of May, Leung said.

Both Perez and Spiegel emphasized the need to "stay the course" to protect community health while carefully reopening. The pandemic and economic recovery are not separate, but rather a "parallel path," Perez said.

While antibody testing is not a requirement to reopening under California's phased approach, Riverside University Health System is pursuing a local COVID-19 antibody study. More details are expected to be released in coming days, and the study is slated to begin within a couple of weeks, Leung said.

The doctor warned, however, there is no scientific consensus on what COVID-19 antibodies really mean. Questions about how long protection lasts and whether reinfection can occur are unanswered. Nonetheless, a local study would "be extremely beneficial," Leung said, noting that residents will not be able to request participation. Instead, the study will involve random sampling of the county population.

All Riverside County residents who want to know if they are currently infected with COVID-19 can get tested — whether they are suffering from symptoms or not. Eight state-operated testing sites are open. The tests are no-cost but appointments must be made at https://lhi.care/covidtesting.

Four drive-up testing sites run by county public health officials in Perris, Indio, Riverside and Lake Elsinore also remain operational. They are also no-cost but appointments are required. Call 800-945-6171 for more information.

Related:

• Fall Reopening Of Riverside County Schools: Planning, Uncertainty
• Coronavirus Hospitalizations Continue Decline In Riverside County
• Temecula Works Toward Reopening As Possible 'Subregion'