Eisenhower Health reports recent increase in positive coronavirus test results

Over the past couple of days, Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage has recently seen an increase in positive coronavirus test results, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed to News Channel 3 on Thursday.

Lee Rice, public information officer for Eisenhower Health, writes that not all of these cases have been from care facilities as they saw in previous weeks. She says these are members of the community.

Visit KESQ.com/Coronavirus for the latest local updates

"The timing lines up with both the easing of restrictions in the area and the recent holiday weekend," Rice wrote.

Rice added that further gatherings without protective action could lead to an increase in cases in our area.

Eisenhower Health has not reached capacity at this time, however, hospital officials encourage residents to continue to follow the safety guidelines to prevent further spread of the virus. This includes physically distancing (6 feet minimum), wearing a mask, and washing your hand/use hand sanitizer.

Medical experts suggest not touching your mask while wearing it and not wearing it around your neck as it can spread contamination.

Although face coverings are only "strongly recommended" in Riverside County, all seven Coachella Valley cities require face covering in a variety of situations.

Palm Springs and Coachella require residents to wear face coverings in public settings unless they are able to maintain social distancing.

The cities of La Quinta, Indian Wells and Palm Desert only require residents to wear a face covering when inside grocery stores or pharmacies.

Indio's order takes it a bit further, requiring a face covering when shopping a grocery stores, drug stores, or any other business that are allowed to operate under the state's stay-at-home order.

Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City's order are required for everyone when in the presence of others. The city only recommends face covering when exercising outdoors but you must remain within six feet of others. People with health complications can be exempt from wearing a face covering.

In Palm Desert, businesses are strongly encouraged to require face coverings and social distancing on their premises and to post notices conspicuously so that everyone entering a business knows its face covering policy.

The Riverside County District 4 weekly report shows that the district has over 2,000 cases. District 4 includes the Coachella Valley and Blythe.

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.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

How to get tested

A total of 80,000 Riverside County residents have been tested so far, that's a little over 2% of the county's population.

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

There are testing site all over the valley now.

Click here to find the closest testing site to you

Riverside County operates 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.

A walk-up testing site opened on Monday at the Cathedral City library. The site will be open from Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 4 pm. Call for an appointment by calling (800) 945-6171.

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

The state also opened eight testing sites across Riverside County 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
  (County officials confirmed this location will open on Friday, May 8)
• 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
  (County officials confirmed this location will open on Friday, May 8)
• 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.