Labor Day Gatherings Worry Riverside County Health Officials

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County health officials Thursday reported 397 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, and 20 additional deaths, as the number of hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 continued to drop.

Officials also urged county residents to adhere to coronavirus safety protocols ahead of the long Labor Day weekend to avoid an uptick in cases like those that occurred after the Memorial Day and July 4 holidays.

The cumulative number of coronavirus infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March now stands at 53,703 countywide, along with 1,053 deaths, according to the Riverside University Health System.

Of the 20 fatalities reported Thursday, one is from July 18, while the rest occurred between Aug. 3 and Aug. 31, according to Jose Arballo, a RUHS spokesman.

The number of patients hospitalized countywide for treatment of the virus is 189, down 18 from Wednesday. That number includes 60 people in intensive care units, which is nine less than the previous day

Emergency Management Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday there has been "an ongoing significant decrease" from the peak of hospitalizations in mid-July, when 550 people were in the county's 17 acute care medical facilities with virus symptoms.

Four drive-up coronavirus testing sites, located in Indio, Perris, Riverside and Lake Elsinore, will close over Labor Day weekend due to extreme heat expected countywide. County officials said the move was aimed at protecting staff.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a four-tier color-coded system used daily to guide counties' in loosening public health regulations.

Riverside County remains in the purple or "widespread" tier of the state's new reopening framework, requiring many indoor businesses to remain closed, substantially limit capacity or shift operations outside.

In order for the county to move to the next level, the red tier, it has to document less than seven new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population, and the positivity testing rate must be less than 8 percent. Read more about the new framework here.

The county is very close to progressing into the next tier.

“Through hard work and the sacrifice of residents, Riverside County has seen improvements in the numbers indicating the spread of coronavirus has slowed,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of the Riverside University Health System - Public Health. “It would be a shame for the results of that hard work to be lost because of the holiday.”

With the long weekend ahead and the possibility of increased gathering, Saruwatari and other public health officials are concerned there could be a surge in COVID-19 cases similar to those that occurred in the county following the Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends.

“There is a temptation during the holiday to attend parties or gatherings and people forget about virus spread,” Saruwatari said. “These parties among family and friends are places where the disease spreads.”

—City News Service contributed to this report.