COVID-19 Testing Urged To Prevent State-Mandated Shutdowns: RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County health officials are once again urging residents to get tested for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in an effort to prevent illness spread and to avoid further state-mandated shutdowns.

“Riverside County residents have sacrificed so much, and the improved data has reflected that sacrifice. But it is critical that the community continue its wide-spread testing,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of Public Health. “The testing tells us where the virus is spreading, and it also helps us continue our movement forward.”

Saruwatari said those with and without symptoms are encouraged to get tested, as well as younger people who traditionally have not gotten screened at the same rate as other groups.

While Riverside County has the volume to test 4,000 people a day, less than half that number have been getting tested at county and state testing sites in recent weeks, county officials reported.

Find free state/county testing sites here.

“I believe that everyone should get tested,” said Riverside County Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “Testing is one of the most crucial ways to slow down the spread of the virus and keep our community healthy. It helps to quickly identify cases and isolate those who are COVID-positive, so they can recover without passing the virus to others. Testing is for everyone, regardless of immigration status, insurance, or whether you have symptoms or not, and there is no charge to the individual.”

On Tuesday, the state released data showing Riverside County's spread of the coronavirus has increased slightly, and the county is in danger of slipping back into the most restrictive "purple" or "widespread" tier of the state's "Blueprint for a Safer Economy."

The county is currently in the red tier, which indicates virus spread is "substantial," according to the state. The red-tier status has allowed schools and more businesses — such as in-restaurant dining, personal care services, gyms, movie theaters and others — to reopen countywide.

A plan introduced Sept. 22 by Supervisor Jeff Hewitt, which proposed an independent path for reopening, took a turn Tuesday when supervisors voted 4-1 to instead work on the plan in partnership with state officials.

In a released statement following Tuesday's vote, Perez said, “As a county, we do not have the authority or the jurisdiction to move into different phases of reopening without the state’s approval. Today, we prevented what could have been a self-inflicted injury."

Riverside County reported 266 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and three additional virus-related deaths Wednesday, while the number of hospitalizations fell.

The total number of COVID-19 infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March stands at 61,133 countywide, with the number of virus-linked deaths at 1,247, according to the Riverside University Health System.

The number of patients infected with COVID-19 being treated in county hospitals fell by seven overnight to 135, a day after county health officials warned that hospitalization rates had gone flat.

"We have stabled off in hospitalizations," Emergency Management Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. "Our ICU (bed usage rate) has flattened."

Wednesday's hospitalization figures include 38 intensive care unit patients, four fewer than the day before.

Barton said the range has been roughly the same for the past few weeks. All COVID-19 hospitalization figures are at or below levels reported in April.

According to state metrics released Tuesday, the county's COVID-19 case and positivity rates increased. The case rate rose to 7.6 cases per 100,000 population from 6.7 last Tuesday. The positivity rate rose to 5.0 percent from 4.8 percent a week ago.

A case rate of 7 (or higher) infections per 100,000 population is considered "widespread" per the state's Blueprint framework.