Newsom: 7 counties expected to move from purple to red tier next Tuesday
Governor Gavin Newsom delivered an update at noon on the state of California's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
If you missed today's update, you can watch the entire briefing below:
Five counties moved from the purple tier to the red tier today. Those were Orange, Amador, Placer, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
Newsom said that the state expects seven counties in the purple tier to move into the red tier next Tuesday. He did not specify which counties.
For a county to be in the red tier, which identifies the county risk level as "Substantial," a county must report 4 to 7 daily new cases (per 100k) and a 5% to 8% positive rate.
Riverside County currently has 7.4 new cases per 100k, an 8.6 adjusted case rate for tier assignment, and a 7.8% positivity rate.
The Adjusted Case Rate for Tier Assignment is determined by multiplying the Case Rate per 100,000 and the Case Rate Adjustment Factor which is based on the county's testing rate per 100,000, according to the state.
(County’s Status Map as of 9/8/20) - Map will update
County tiers are expected to be updated on Tuesdays at Noon during the Governor's news conference. You can watch the news conferences live on News Channel 3 and KESQ.com at Noon.
Download the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store or Google Play to get the latest coronavirus updates, including local coverage, reopening news, and watch the governor's news conferences live.
Coronavirus in Riverside County
Officials in Riverside County are expected to release new data Tuesday afternoon showing the latest information on local case numbers. On Friday, Riverside County reported 397 new cases since Thursday. This brings the total number of cases up to 53,987.
Health experts across the nation and here in Coachella Valley expressed concern that the holiday weekend would bring additional social mixing, and with it, an increased spread of the coronavirus.
More: ‘Lives are at stake’: Valley hospital warns of holiday weekend coronavirus surge
Virus-related hospitalizations at Eisenhower Health, and even countywide, were trending down Friday. There were only about 12 patients receiving care for coronavirus – the lowest the hospital has seen since Memorial Day weekend back in May.
Alan Williamson, MD, chief medical officer with Eisenhower Health is warning after that holiday, there was a months-long surge in coronavirus-related hospitalizations – a spike he attributes to both large gatherings and celebrations, as well as the aggressive push to reopen businesses then. He's concerned the same thing could be happening all over again.
"We're seeing a bit of the same pressures right now where there's pressures to reopen businesses," Williamson said. "And at the same time we have the Labor Day holiday, another point where we tend to gather together in large groups and celebrate the end of summer. But we have to understand that even though livelihoods are potentially at stake if we don't open our businesses aggressively, lives are at stake if we do this without caution."
El Dorado Fire sparked by gender reveal party device
On Sunday CalFire determined that the cause of the massive El Dorado Fire burning in the San Bernardino National Forest was sparked by a smoke-generating 'pyrotechnic device' at a gender reveal party at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa.
More information: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party sparked one of the California wildfires, burning over 8,600 acres
Stay up-to-date with the latest local coronavirus news, including reopenings and closing, new case data, live news conferences, and other updates at KESQ.com/Coronavirus or download the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
