Vaccination Continues As Riverside County's COVID-19 Deaths Rise

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The COVID-19 death toll reported in Riverside County rose by another 53 people Wednesday, but total hospitalizations were flat, while efforts to vaccinate health care workers and other frontline professionals were continuing.

The total number of Riverside County residents reported dead due to COVID-19 stood at 2,151 Wednesday.

Kim Saruwatari, director of the Riverside University Health System-Public Health, said on Dec. 31 that everyone is vulnerable to becoming a COVID-19 casualty.

"We’ve seen deaths in the young and old. We’ve seen couples, family members and healthcare workers die from this disease. These deaths, combined with mental health impacts and economic losses, are painful reminders of how this disease has cost all of us," she said.

Since New Year's Eve, 166 Riverside County residents have been reported dead due to COVID-19.

While reported deaths were up Wednesday, hospitalizations remained level in the county, with 1,611 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment, four fewer than Tuesday. Of the total, 343 patients were in intensive care units, an increase of one over the previous day.

The hospital situation remains challenging, with scarce space and overburdened staff. The county's ICU bed capacity remains at zero percent, and hospital officials have urged residents to take precautions to limit exposure risks to reduce the chances of hospital visits.

The number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Riverside County during the pandemic reached 203,957 Wednesday, an increase of 3,901 infections over Tuesday's reporting. About two-thirds of the total cases are people who have since recovered from the virus.

On Wednesday, health care workers across a myriad of settings were being offered the coronavirus vaccine at Ben Clark Training Center in Riverside. In addition to health care workers, paramedics/EMTs, employees in mortuary services, dental offices, laboratories and others were eligible to receive the vaccine. Another vaccination clinic hosted by the county is scheduled Thursday at the Roy Wilson Training Center in Thousand Palms. The same eligibility requirements apply. Read more here.

According to data that was last updated Jan. 3, the county has received 25,310 doses of the vaccine and 17,294 residents have been vaccinated. Riverside County is following state and federal guidelines for determining the phases of vaccine distribution.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California officials are working to accelerate the administration of the vaccine across the state, including expanding the number of distribution sites and the types of people who can give the shots.

The next population group to be vaccinated will contain people 75 and older, as well as workers in education and childcare, emergency services, food and agriculture, according to the governor.

Next in line will be people 50 and older; people 16-64 with underlying health conditions; as well as people working in water and waste management, defense, energy, communications and IT, financial services, chemicals/hazardous materials, government ops/community services, the governor said.

"We've got work to do on this," Newsom said Monday. " ... Obviously as we move into January, we want to see things accelerate and we want to see things go much faster."