More than 2,000 Riverside County residents have recovered from coronavirus

Riverside County cases have increased to 4,672. The number of reported cases jumped by 218 in the past 24 hours. Last Monday, the total number of cases was 3,563.

Visit KESQ.com/Coronavirus for local coverage

Recoveries slightly increased across Riverside County going from 1,997 to 2,025.

Health officials define 'recovered' individuals as "living, confirmed cases who no longer have symptoms and have completed isolation requirements as determined by ongoing Public Health investigation operations."

There are now 207 patients hospitalized with 84 in the ICU.

There were 2 new reported deaths across the county bringing the total to 186. Both deaths were recorded in the city of Riverside.

On Monday, Riverside County reported an increase of 20, one of the largest day-to-day increase in Riverside County. The total of deaths increased from 161 to 181.

According to county spokesperson Brooke Federico, the number of deaths increase more at the start of the month.

"What this is is that once a week we do a review of our death certificates and confirm which of those deaths were related to COVID-19 and usually we see this increase at the beginning of each month where the jump is a little higher than our other days throughout the week," Federico said in a county update.

The county's most recent death report shows that males make up more than double the number of deaths, despite the fact that there are approximately 2,000 more cases among females than in males.

Additionally, most of the deaths have been in the 65-84 age range at 77 as of May 1. Last week's report has that number at 61

The 40 to 64 age range has the highest number of cases with 1,700.

Coachella has the most cases in the county with 144. Indio follows closely with 138. Palm Springs has the most deaths with 9 but the number of cases and deaths has stabilized significantly in the past couple of weeks.

Cases by Coachella Valley cities & communities (As of 5/6/2020)
· Bermuda Dunes
Confirmed Cases: 4
Deaths: 0
· Cabazon
Confirmed Cases: 3
Deaths: 1
· Cathedral City
Confirmed Cases: 102
Deaths: 1
· Coachella
Confirmed Cases: 149
Deaths: 3
· Desert Edge
Confirmed Cases: 3
Deaths: 0
· Desert Hot Springs
Confirmed Cases: 45
Deaths: 0
· Desert Palms
Confirmed Cases: 8
Deaths: 0
· Garnet
Confirmed Cases: 9
Deaths: 0
· Indian Wells
Confirmed Cases: 13
Deaths: 0
· Indio
Confirmed Cases: 145
Deaths: 5
· La Quinta
Confirmed Cases: 78
Deaths: 4
· Mecca
Confirmed Cases: 34
Deaths: 1
· North Shore
Confirmed Cases: 10
Deaths: 0
· Oasis
Confirmed Cases: 15
Deaths: 0
· Palm Desert
Confirmed Cases: 105
Deaths: 6
· Palm Springs
Confirmed Cases: 102
Deaths: 9
· Rancho Mirage
Confirmed Cases: 28
Deaths: 3
· Sky Valley
Confirmed Cases: 2
Deaths: 0
· Thermal
Confirmed Cases: 12
Deaths: 0
· Thousand Palms
Confirmed Cases: 5
Deaths: 0
· County Jails
There are 151 cases in the County's jails, with 2 deaths, and 120 recoveries.

The city of Riverside has the most cases in the county with 864 with 52 deaths.

Click here to see cases by zip code

Cases by Age Range:

• 0-4: 42
• 5-17: 151
• 18-39: 1,427
• 40-64: 1,865
• 65-79: 625
• 80+: 325

Testing continues to increase across Riverside County, which may be behind the increased number of diagnosed cases. County data shows that 58,878 patients have been tested so far. Riverside County Supervisor Manny Perez said about 2-percent of the county's population has been tested.

Symptoms

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell

You can call the Centers for Disease Control with any questions at 211 and 800–CDC –INFO (800 – 232 – 4636).

If you want to be seen at Eisenhower Health, call their 24-hour coronavirus hotline first at 760-837-8988 or 760-TEST988. Avoid the spread of this illness.

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

How to get tested

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

You can get a test even if you do not have symptoms. Testing was expanded to include all residents on April 17.

Riverside County has testing sites in Indio, Blythe, Perris, Riverside, and Lake Elsinore.

If you want to get tested at one of the other five Riverside County testing sites, you will need to call 800-945-6171 to set up an appointment. Officials said the turnaround time for test results is typically 3-4 days.

Another testing site is set to open in Coachella, on 85365 Dillon Road. The Coachella site will be open Fridays and Saturdays beginning May 1. Call (833) 624-1097 to set-up a testing appointment.

Riverside County will open eight new testing sites starting Wednesday, May 6 that could test 1,000 people every day.

The following locations will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. by appointment only:

• Mecca Boys and Girls Club
  91391 66th Ave
  Mecca, Ca
• Moses Schaffer Community Center
  21565 Steele Peak
  Perris, CA 92570
• Mead Valley Senior Center
  21091 Rider St., Suite 102
  Perris, CA 92570
• Jurupa Valley Fleet Center 
  5293 Mission Boulevard
  Riverside, CA 92509
• Nellie Weaver Hall
  3737 Crestview
  Norco, CA 92860

The following locations will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.:

• Lozano Community Center
  12-800 West Arroyo
  Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240
• Noble Creek Community Center
  390 W. Oak Valley Parkway
  Beaumont, CA 92223
• Valle Vista Community Center
  43935 E. Acacia Ave.
  Hemet, CA 92544

Appointments at these facilities can be made online by going to https://lhi.care/covidtesting or calling 888-634-1123.

Some businesses could be back open by Friday

Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that he will issue guidelines on Thursday aimed at allowing some "lower-risk'' retail businesses to begin reopening.

Full details: Gov. Newsom to allow some businesses to open on Friday with modifications

The guidelines would allow some businesses to reopen as early as Friday and offer curbside pickup of goods.

"As early as the end of this week, you will have the capacity as a retailer with the modifications and the guidelines we set forth on Thursday to
begin to reopen for pickup: clothing, book stores, music, toys, sporting goods stores, florists -- with Mothers Day coming up,'' Newsom said.

The move will not apply to offices or shopping malls.

Newsom had said last week that the state is "days not months" away from lifting some restrictions.

"We're getting very close to making very meaningful augmentations to that stay-at-home order. We said 'weeks, not months' about four or five days ago. I want to say 'many days, not weeks.' As long as we continue to be prudent and thoughtful in certain modifications, I think we'll be making some announcements," Newsom said.

Gov. Newsom did not speak about whether the timeline for stages 3 & 4 have been impacted. He previously said the state is "months, not weeks" away from reaching stages 3 and 4.

Full details: Governor outlines 4 stages for recovery

Riverside County orders still in effect

Earlier today, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser extended his order requiring residents to wear face coverings when outside and keep practicing social distancing through June 19.

Read: Riverside County extends face covering/social distancing orders to June

Other county order in effect until June 19 include the closure of Riverside County schools and limits to short-term lodging.

Riverside County also recently allowed various outdoor activities like golf, hiking, pickleball, and tennis. The county also issued a one swimmer per pool policy at private pools (HOA, apartment complex, hotel, motel, and country clubs).

Palm Springs voted to continue to keep the city's golf courses and pickleball/tennis courts closed until at least next week.

You can read more about what's open and what remains closed in the county's updated FAQ section

County Supervisors to vote on proposal to remove county orders later this week

The Riverside County Board of Supervisory are set to vote on a proposal that would remove the county's stricter health orders and align with the state's orders.

The proposal would eliminate orders such as the closure of schools, limitations on short term lodging, restrictions on golf courses, and the requirement of face masks and social distancing.

Watch: Riverside County could end coronavirus orders next week, health experts warn it's too soon

The proposal would align the county to Governor Newsom's less stringent stay-at-home order, in which face coverings are recommended, but not mandatory.

The Board of Supervisors were originally set to vote on the proposal on Tuesday, however, the vote was delayed as the supervisors wanted to see Governor Newsom's guidelines are before voting.

Full Story: County Supervisors delay vote to rescind health orders until Friday

Supervisors are set to vote on the proposal on Friday starting at 1 p.m. Check KESQ.com or watch News Channel 3 live on Friday for up-to-the-minute coverage of the vote.

Stay up to date with the latest breaking news by downloading the KESQ App on Apple Store or Google Play.

Supervisor Manny Perez originally presented the proposal, however, on Monday, he said after looking at more data and speaking with locals, he now supports a mandatory face covering order in the county.

Watch: Supervisor Perez voices support for mandatory face cover order

Some of the county's orders were just recently extended to June 19 by county public health office Dr. Cameron Kaiser.

Rep Ruiz, local officials release coronavirus data from local hospitals

Last week, Congressman Raul Ruiz and officials from the valley's hospitals said that it would be too soon to start lifting some restrictions.

“We are still far off from our best case scenario. We can do better with more testing, contact tracing and quarantining," said Patricia Cummings, PhD, MPH, Epidemiologist, Eisenhower Health.

Watch: Local hospitals release critical data on Coronavirus numbers in Coachella Valley

Local Chamber of Commerce asks County to start reopen economy

Also last week, the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Supervisor Manny Perez asking him to consider starting to reopen the local economy.

"The need is urgent. We believe our economy will suffer severe, irreversible damage if the current shutdown stretches into the summer months," writes Joshua R. Bonner, IOM President and CEO of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Full story: GCVCC asks Riverside County Supervisor to start reopening local economy

Supervisor Perez said on Monday that Riverside County is projected to be at a 32% job loss rate (the county was at 7.2% before the outbreak according to Perez) by mid-May and 30% of businesses have closed.

Additional measures in Palm Springs

Palm Springs continues to have some of the strictest health orders in the Coachella Valley and the county.

Two weeks ago, city leaders took additional steps to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

A new "supplementary order" aims to increase safety in Palm Springs grocery stores and drug stores. Within that, "Stores must adhere to a policy of not serving anyone not wearing a face covering."

On April 25, Palm Springs announced that they were extending the moratorium on most short term lodging until May 31st, 2020. Short term lodging establishments include hotels, vacation rentals, timeshares, and homeshares. In addition, the order allows the operators of these establishments to rent to victims or witnesses to domestic violence as a COVID-19 related purpose.

Additionally, the city has strict fines for those in violation of orders, with the total ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 depending the severity of the violation and number of times a person has violated the order.

Details: Palm Springs implements stricter fines for violating emergency orders

If the county were to vote on revoking its orders, the Palm Springs orders would still remain in place as it won't affect local orders.