Coronavirus Update For Riverside County: Numbers, News

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County health officials Thursday reported 330 newly confirmed coronavirus infections and four additional virus-related deaths, as the number of hospitalizations tied to the virus continued to creep upward.

The total number of COVID-19 infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March is 65,386, compared to 65,056 on Wednesday, according to the Riverside University Health System.

The number of people who've recovered from the illness stands at 58,602, while the agency said the number of deaths tied to COVID-19 is 1,279.

There are now 176 people hospitalized for virus-related treatment countywide, an increase of nine from Wednesday, and 19 more than Tuesday's total. The figure includes 41 intensive care unit patients — four more than the previous day.

County health officials additionally announced Tuesday that the California Department of Public Health had downgraded Riverside County back to the purple, or most restrictive, tier under the governor's color-coded coronavirus regulatory system, meaning some businesses that had reopened in recent weeks will have to close again or move outdoors.

Gyms, restaurants, movie theaters, places of worship, museums and zoos must close or move their operations outside within 72 hours of the Tuesday announcement. (See the complete list of what sectors are open in the purple tier.)

The county had been in the red tier for a month, permitting many businesses to reopen with limited capacities. The county will remain in the purple tier for a minimum of three weeks per the state's system.

All schools were allowed to reopen two weeks after the county was moved into the red tier. Now that the county has moved backward into the purple tier, a school looking to reopen must apply for a waiver. Several private schools have reopened under the waiver program, but to date no public school has. See the complete list here.

Kim Saruwatari, director of the county's public health department, said Tuesday that the county's testing rate is currently 195.5 per 100,000 population. The state's threshold for large counties is 239.21 per 100,000. The other criterion for red tier status is a daily COVID-19 case rate of 7 per 100,000 or less. The county is at 8.4 per 100,000, with an adjusted rate of 9.1 per 100,000, which was applied because the county testing threshold was deemed unsatisfactory.

The county's overall testing positivity rate is 5.2 percent, which is well within red tier criteria, according to RUHS.

Here's what's open in Riverside County:

**Outdoor playgrounds and outdoor recreational facilities updated September 28, 2020

***Personal care services, live audience professional sports and amusement parks updated October 20, 2020