98.1% Of New COVID Cases In RivCo Are Unvaccinated Or Partially

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The number of coronavirus hospitalizations in Riverside County increased by almost 30 over the last week, and new infections surpassed 1,300 over the seven-day period, health officials reported Wednesday.

Riverside University Health System spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr. said the figures do not represent a surge, but there is concern because numbers are trending upward.

Countywide, 94 people are hospitalized with COVID symptoms, and 1,337 additional diagnoses were confirmed countywide in the seven-day period.

Since the June 15 statewide reopening, 2,513 new COVID cases have been reported in Riverside County, according to Arballo.

"This is an increase, but it's nothing like we saw last July," he said.

Vaccine availability appears to be playing a key role in preventing widespread infection. Since February 1, 98.1 percent of the Riverside County's more than 22,000 new COVID infections have been among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents, according to Arballo.

Countywide, 47.8 percent of people ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated, according to RUHS data updated Thursday morning.

Arballo acknowledged that people who were previously infected with the virus and have chosen not to get vaccinated have some protection.

"We don't know how much, especially against the variants," Arballo said.

The county is now tracking variant spread, but there's a significant reporting lag.

Riverside County data updated Wednesday show 144 local cases of the U.K. variant, 18 Delta cases, 10 cases of the Brazil variant, and zero South Africa cases.

But the specimen collection dates range from April 2021 through June 30, 2021.

"There is a lag in the data of up to a month or more due to the time required for laboratories to sequence and report variant cases to the Public Health Department," RUHS reports.

The figures don't include spread occurring in people who don't get tested.

Fortunately, over the last week, zero additional COVID deaths were reported.

Arballo said health officials are expecting to see infections increase in the weeks ahead due to the July 4 holiday weekend that saw friends, families and strangers gather, but any significant uptick will not be seen until the end of the month, Arballo explained.

"We may have a surge," he said, "but hopefully that is not the case."