COVID Hospitalizations Drop Below 200 In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — As federal officials this week unveiled a new COVID strategy, the number of COVID-positive patients in Riverside County hospitals declined below 200 Thursday, although nearly 100 virus-related deaths were reported over the last week.

The Riverside University Health System reported 194 hospitalizations Thursday, down by 117 patients since one week ago. Of the patients currently hospitalized, 31 were in intensive care, down by 27 compared to one week ago.

The county's COVID hospitalizations had climbed as high as 1,109 in mid-January during a surge in cases driven by the omicron variant but have been steadily declining since then.

On Thursday, the RUHS reported 11 additional deaths connected to COVID- 19, bringing the county's virus-related death toll to 6,285 since the pandemic began. Over the last seven days, 98 COVID-related deaths have been reported.

Fatalities are considered trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates, meaning some deaths may have actually occurred weeks ago, according to health officials.

The total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began stood at 592,156 on Thursday, an increase of 2,611 new infections reported over the last week.

According to RUHS data, 61.3 percent of the county residents 5 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19; 30.5 percent of residents 12 and older have received a booster shot.