Visitors To RivCo Hospitals: Vaxx, Negative COVID Test Required

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A California public health order that directs hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19 took effect Wednesday in Riverside County and across the state.

Unvaccinated visitors must have tested negative for COVID-19 in the prior 72 hours before indoor visits, the California Department of Public Health said.

The order is in response to increasing COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care unit patients who have been sickened by the highly contagious Delta variant, and to further protect vulnerable Californians and health care workers, the CDPH said.

"Health care facilities are high-risk settings where COVID-19 outbreaks can have severe consequences for vulnerable populations including hospitalization, severe illness, and death," the CDPH said.

By requiring visitors to acute care facilities to show proof they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19, "California is protecting the most vulnerable individuals, while also protecting workers in these settings," the CDPH continued.

Updates to guidance for visitors to other long-term care facilities are expected in the near future.

Under a separate state order, workers in health care settings are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive their second dose by September 30, 2021. The order applies to workers in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and in most other health care settings. Employees may have options for compensated time off to get vaccinated, including COVID Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, according to the CDPH.

The order is in addition to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement last month requiring state workers and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings to either demonstrate proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week.

The state is seeing increasing numbers of individuals — "overwhelmingly unvaccinated" — who are getting sick from COVID-19, in particular the Delta variant, and being admitted to the hospital and ICU, the CDPH said.

Riverside County appears to be following the state's trend. On Wednesday, county officials reported 1,409 new cases of COVID- 19, 14 more hospitalizations and five additional deaths Wednesday.

Wednesday's numbers brought the total number of deaths in the county since the pandemic began to 4,674, according to the Riverside University Health System.

The total number of infections increased to 317,814, according to RUHS.

The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 totaled 489, up 14 from Tuesday. This hospitalization number includes 85 intensive care unit patients, two fewer than Tuesday's report.

Riverside County continues to experience the highest number of COVID- positive hospitalizations since February, although the total is well below the level seen during the winter surge, when more than 1,600 people in the county were hospitalized with the virus.

The recent increase in cases mirrors a nationwide surge, with federal health officials blaming the highly infectious Delta strain of the virus.

When asked recently about a possible culprit for the sudden increase in cases in Riverside County, Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung said the jump could also be linked to the June 15 relaxation of the state's public health safety measures.

State health officials say the Delta variant is preying on the unvaccinated population, which has an infection rate nearly seven times higher than that of vaccinated residents.

According to the RUHS, 59.1% of county residents 12 and older have received at least one coronavirus vaccine shot, and 50.8% have been fully vaccinated.