Coronavirus Cases Surpass 50,000, Nearly 1,000 Deaths: RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County health officials Monday reported 45 newly confirmed COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the county's coronavirus death toll to nearly 1,000.

The total number of coronavirus deaths recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March now stands at 972, according to the Riverside University Health System, which also reported another 1,262 infections on Monday, bringing the cumulative number of cases to 50,744.

The deaths reported Monday occurred between Aug. 3-20, with the exception of one fatality from July 16, according to Jose Arballo, a RUHS spokesman.

RUHS does not release coronavirus data on weekends, so numbers often come in high on Mondays.

The number of known active virus cases countywide is 21,365, or 398 fewer than Friday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 50,744 — according to the county Executive Office. The number of verified patient recoveries is 28,407.

According to RUHS, 224 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 — down 28 from Friday. Hospitalizations include 82 patients in intensive care units.

Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage has seen the heaviest demand for COVID-19 treatment, requiring a 19-person federal medical team to assist on-site staff.

The county has been inching toward meeting state thresholds that, once reached, would allow for further reopening. Case rate, percentage of positive tests, average number of tests the county can perform daily, changes in the number of hospitalized patients, and the percentage of ventilators and intensive care beds available are the metrics the state looks at when deciding whether a county should be on a "watch list" that prevents further reopening of the local economy.

San Diego and Orange counties are no longer on the watch list, but any county can be placed back on the list if it exceeds one of the thresholds for three consecutive days.

Riverside County continues struggling to get its case rate/positivity rate below the state thresholds.

To date, the county has tested 491,918 residents for COVID-19.

On Monday the state reported the county's case rate was 158.7 positive cases per 100,000 people tested over the last 14 days. The state wants to see fewer than 100 positive cases per 100,000 tests over a two-week period.

Riverside County's positivity rate was 9.5 percent over the last seven days — down substantially from its high of nearly 20 percent last month, data show. The state threshold is 8 percent.

Related:

• RivCo Awaits As OC Falls Off CA Coronavirus Watch List
• Riverside County Closer To Meeting CA's Coronavirus Benchmarks
• Riverside County Elementary Schools Can Now Seek Reopening