RivCo's COVID Hospitalizations Climb, LA County Preps To Mask Up

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The number of people hospitalized with a coronavirus infection in Riverside County continues a summer climb, but there are signs that new infections may be leveling off, according to figures released Friday by Riverside University Health System.

A comparison of data over the last seven days showed COVID-19 hospitalizations countywide were 260, compared to 222 a week ago, with 21 patients in the ICU, compared to just nine patients a week ago.

One month ago, 133 people were hospitalized throughout the county with a COVID infection, a dozen of whom were ICU patients.

Among those hospitalized with a COVID diagnosis in June, one in three patients had been fully vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic, according to county public health figures. Data for July was not yet available.

RUHS said that in the last 28 months, a total of 6,584 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded. The fatality count was at 6,566 a week ago.

The number of known active virus cases in the county, based on available data, is 7,898, compared to 12,541 a week ago.

While it's too soon to say whether the recent uptick in new infections is definitely tapering in the county, Los Angeles County remains on track to have another indoor mask-wearing mandate implemented by the end of next week, although daily numbers of new cases there may also be falling, according to state and county data.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show dozens of California counties — including Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura — are in a "high" transmission category. Los Angeles is the only Southern California county considering a mask mandate.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer held an online media briefing and explained why a mask mandate might be returning to her county.

"We feel like, unfortunately, for some people, this is still a virus that can cause a fair amount of devastation," she said. "At this point, we have tried to ask people to make their own decision about masking ... and that hasn't been very successful. We think many more people are likely to go ahead and put on those masks [if a mandate is issued]."

Los Angeles County lacks a formalized mask enforcement plan. Instead, the county relies primarily on education in hopes of convincing people to wear face coverings. Business owners are not required to be enforcement agents.

The CDC is recommending that people living in high transmission areas like Southern California wear a mask in indoor public spaces, stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, and get tested if they have symptoms. Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness, according to the CDC.