Riverside County reports 1,991 new cases, 65 hospitalizations, & 16 more people in ICU
Riverside County released its weekly COVID-19 report on Wednesday, showing big increases in hospitalizations and patients admitted into the ICU.
The county added more than 98% of all new COVID cases reported since February, have been among those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
"The vaccine is the best protection you're going to have against the virus and also the variants it has," said county spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr.
News Channel 3's Madison Weil asked Arballo whether the county is considering reimplementing any indoor mask mandates like other nearby counties have, he said they aren't planning on it right now.
"It's something we could revisit in the future, but right now we're following state guidance and mandates," Arballo said.
County health officials recommend getting tested if you travel or experience any symptoms and continue to wear a mask if unvaccinated.
New Cases
Riverside County reported 1,991 new coronavirus cases since Wednesday. This brings the total number of cases up to 304,060.
"Back on July 1st our case rate was 2.0 And now its 7.1. It tells you that we are going in the wrong direction," Arballo added.
The county's overall test positivity rate continued to trend up although the jump is not as big as it was last week.
This week, the county has a 6.3% positivity rate, up from 4.3% positivity rate last week, according to the state's COVID page.
Two weeks ago the county reported a 1.3% positivity rate.
Riverside County reported 1,090 recoveries over the past week. The county now has a total of 297,011 recoveries since the start of the pandemic.
COVID-Related Deaths
Riverside County reported 10 additional deaths since last week,, bringing the total number of deaths to 4,657.
County officials said three of those deaths were young people in their early 20s. All three were unvaccinated and two of those people had underlying health conditions.
"I will say in all the time we've been doing this I can't recall seeing that many people in their 20s in a single death report," Arballo said. "That's alarming to me"
There was one new death reported in the Coachella Valley. The death was reported in the city of Indio (226 total.) The Coachella Valley now has a total of 995 deaths.
Hospitalizations & ICU
Riverside County reported an increase of 61 COVID-related hospitalizations since last Wednesday. This brings the total up to 155.
This is the most hospitalizations in the county since March 19, 2021, however it is well below the number we were at this point last year. On July 21, 2020, Riverside County recorded 536 COVID hospitalizations.
The total number of COVID patients in the ICU doubled over the past 7 days.
The county reported an increase of 16 patients in the ICU, bringing the total to 30 patients.
Riverside County COVID Vaccine Data
Riverside County reported more than 20,000 additional residents who are either partially or full vaccinated since last week. The county reports that a total of 1,175,986 residents 12+ (or 55.9% of the county population) are either partially or full vaccinated.
48.6% of the county's population, or 1,022,571 residents, are full vaccinated. That's up 20,907 people since last week.
COVID vaccine clinics are open across Riverside County for all residents 16 and older. You can schedule an appointment at: https://www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine.
Seniors who need assistance can dial 2-1-1.
Those who register must show proof of age/employment at the time of appointment.
Residents under 18 must have a parent or guardian with them when arriving to their vaccine appointment.
Cases in Coachella Valley Cities and Communities (As of 07/21/21)
· Bermuda Dunes
Confirmed Cases: 677
Deaths: 10
Recovered: 660
· Cabazon
Confirmed Cases: 331
Deaths: 7
Recovered: 321
· Cathedral City
Confirmed Cases: 7,218
Deaths: 113
Recoveries: 7,072
· Coachella
Confirmed Cases: 7,991
Deaths: 97
Recovered: 7,872
· Desert Edge
Confirmed Cases: 351
Deaths: 16
Recovered: 331
· Desert Hot Springs
Confirmed Cases: 4,314
Deaths: 74
Recovered: 4,206
· Desert Palms
Confirmed Cases: 266
Deaths: 25
Recovered: 240
· Garnet
Confirmed Cases: 899
Deaths: 20
Recovered: 871
· Indian Wells
Confirmed Cases: 201
Deaths: 6
Recovered: 193
· Indio
Confirmed Cases: 12,486
Deaths: 226
Recoveries: 12,204
· La Quinta
Confirmed Cases: 3,515
Deaths: 59
Recovered: 3,435
· Mecca
Confirmed Cases: 1,137
Deaths: 19
Recovered: 1,114
· North Shore
Confirmed Cases: 361
Deaths: 1
Recovered: 360
· Oasis
Confirmed Cases: 895
Deaths: 8
Recovered: 885
· Palm Desert
Confirmed Cases: 4,056
Deaths: 119
Recovered: 3,894
· Palm Springs
Confirmed Cases: 3,855
Deaths: 129
Recovered: 3,677
· Rancho Mirage
Confirmed Cases: 1,124
Deaths: 50
Recovered: 1,063
· Sky Valley
Confirmed Cases: 227
Deaths: 5
Recovered: 221
· Thermal
Confirmed Cases: 477
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 465
· Thousand Palms
Confirmed Cases: 1,066
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 1,054
· County Jails
There are 948 cases in the County's jails, with 1 death, and 940 recoveries.·
· State Jails
There are 5,479 cases in the County's jails, with 1 death, and 5,464 recoveries.
