Riverside County reports 20 coronavirus deaths in last 24 hours

Riverside County now has a total of 4,354 cases. The number of reported cases increased by 174 in the past 24 hours. Last Monday, the total number of cases was 3,563.

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Deaths in the county increased by 20 in the past 24 hours, 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.

Locally, La Quinta reported three new deaths while Indio, Palm Desert, Mecca, and Coachella each reported a new death. The city of Riverside confirmed 10 deaths today as well.

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 now has the most cases in the county with 144, surpassing Indio for the first time. 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 5/3/2020)
· Bermuda Dunes
Confirmed Cases: 4
Deaths: 0
· Cabazon
Confirmed Cases: 3
Deaths: 1
· Cathedral City
Confirmed Cases: 102
Deaths: 1
· Coachella
Confirmed Cases: 144
Deaths: 3
· Desert Edge
Confirmed Cases: 3
Deaths: 0
· Desert Hot Springs
Confirmed Cases: 40
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: 138
Deaths: 5
· La Quinta
Confirmed Cases: 75
Deaths: 4
· Mecca
Confirmed Cases: 33
Deaths: 1
· North Shore
Confirmed Cases: 10
Deaths: 0
· Oasis
Confirmed Cases: 15
Deaths: 0
· Palm Desert
Confirmed Cases: 98
Deaths: 6
· Palm Springs
Confirmed Cases: 101
Deaths: 9
· Rancho Mirage
Confirmed Cases: 26
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 149 cases in the County's jails; 120 have recovered

The city of Riverside has the most cases in the county with 767 with 50 deaths.

Click here to see cases by zip code

Cases by Age Range:

• 0-4: 40
• 5-17: 132
• 18-39: 1,271
• 40-64: 1,700
• 65-79: 575
• 80+: 290

Testing continues to increase across Riverside County, which may be behind the increased number of diagnosed cases. County data shows that 56,228 patients have been tested so far. Riverside County Supervisor Manny Perez said about 2-percent of the county's population has been tested.

Recoveries slightly increased across Riverside County going from 1,971 to 1,982. Friday saw what was possibly the biggest jump in recoveries, going from 1,483 to 1,693. That increase in recoveries increases into the weekend.

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 217 patients hospitalized with 78 in the ICU.

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.

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.

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.

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 present proposal to remove some restrictions

Just 24 hours after county public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser extended county health orders, Chairman of the Riverside County board of supervisors Manuel Perez announced he will propose to rescind all county health orders currently in place as local health experts warn it could be too soon to pull back.

The four orders that would be eliminated include 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

Perez said the proposal would clear up confusion, deferring Riverside County to Governor Newsom's less stringent stay-at-home order

The board will vote on the proposal on Tuesday, May 5. News Channel 3 will have full coverage of this vote.

Rep Ruiz, local officials release coronavirus data from local hospitals

Congressman Raul Ruiz and officials from the valley's hospitals said on Thursday 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

On Wednesday, the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Riverside County District 4 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

Additional measures in Palm Springs

Last weekend, city leaders in Palm Springs 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."

Late Saturday afternoon the city of 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.