COVID hospitalizations in Riverside County continue downward trend
COVID-related hospitalizations continue to fall in Riverside County with over 100 fewer patients reported in the past week.
On Monday, the county reported 1524 total hospitalizations, that's 36 fewer patients compared to Sunday (1560).
On January 11, Riverside County reported 1675 total hospitalizations, which is the most ever reported by the county. Over the past 6 days, the county has reported 151 less patients.
The downward trend also extends to some Coachella Valley hospitals.
Desert Regional in Palm Springs reported its highest number of COVID patients but that number has come down a bit. The hospital is currently treating about 118 patients with COVID-19. The hospital never reported more than 100 patients before the Thanksgiving surge.
Read: Tent raised outside of Eisenhower Health Emergency Department for patient screening
JFK Memorial Hospital is a bit different. It's a smaller hospital so it never went above 100 patients, but it did report its peak between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The number of patients has continually decreased since the start of the new year and although it did have some bumps.
Meanwhile at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, COVID hospitalizations have come back down closer to the pre-Christmas, post-Thanksgiving peak of a little over 120 patients. The post-Christmas peak was at over 160 patients, more than double what it was in the summer peak.
Although hospitalizations going down is a good sign that the burden on our health system is being eased, there some things to continue looking at.
COVID-related deaths have also increased at a never before seen rate. From January 8 to January 15, the county has reported 299 deaths, nearly 12% of the total number of deaths during the entire pandemic (2,517as of 1/15/21).
On the other side of the coin, the county has reported 16,815 recoveries in that same time span. Although the county doesn't reveal how many of the residents reported as recovered were hospitalized, it is still one of the larger weekly bumps in recoveries since the start of the pandemic.
Note: Due to MLK Jr Day, the county is not providing new data on cases and deaths today
In addition, Desert Regional officials anticipate the surge of coronavirus patients will last for the next several weeks.
In an interview with News Channel 3's Peter Daut that will air tonight at 6:30, the hospital's chief quality officer said that even though numbers have hit a plateau, they anticipate there are many people in the early stages of the virus who will soon need to be hospitalized.
Watch the interview tonight at 6:30 p.m. on CBS Local 2 and Fox 11 as officials discuss a new antibodies-infusion clinic opening at Desert Regional that will help patients fight the virus if they're in the early stages of the disease.
Download the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store and Google Play to get alerts on when new vaccine appointments open, live news conferences, updates on reopening and closing.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.
How to get tested
Remember, you can get tested even if you do not have symptoms. Testing is available to all county residents.
You are now able to get a free test at many Rite-Aids in the area. Click here for a full list of stores and to schedule your appointment.
