Riverside County reports 1607 new cases, 19 deaths, 33 fewer hospitalizations since Wednesday

Hospitalizations

COVID-19 hospitalizations fell on Thursday for the first time in several weeks.

Over the past 24 hours, the county reported 33 fewer COVID hospitalizations. The county now has a total of 1,076 patients.

COVID Hospitalizations in the past month-and-a-half:

• Jan. 20 - 1,076
• Jan. 19 - 1,109
• Jan. 18 - 1,087
• Jan. 17 - 1,023
• Jan. 14 - 991
• Jan. 7 - 791
• Dec. 30 - 432
• Dec. 1 - 238

The county also reported a decrease of 6 patients in the ICU due to COVID since Wednesday. This brings the total of ICU patients to 154.

The latest report from Eisenhower Health shows that COVID hospitalizations are approaching 100 patients. The hospital is reporting its highest number of COVID patients since Jan. 2021.

According to the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department, 84% of the county's total licensed beds are currently occupied (35% is COVID positive). That's up from last week's report when the county revealed that 81% of beds were occupied.

The Emergency Management Department also revealed that 96% of ICU beds in the county are currently occupied ((33% COVID positive). Last week, that was at 91%.

The department added that 29% of ED visits are COVID-related.

As the county said last week, the report is across the system, but some county hospitals are close or over 100% usage.

The latest vaccination status report by Riverside University Health System-Public Health revealed that unvaccinated patients accounted for 90% of COVID hospitalizations from July-Dec. 2021

Cases & Deaths

Since Wednesday, the county has reported 1,607 new cases & 19 deaths.

The county has a total of 432,101 cases & 5,706 deaths.

The Coachella Valley reported an increase of 1,752 coronavirus cases since last Monday (Jan. 10). There is now a total of 67,858 cases. The valley also reported five new deaths, bringing the total up to 1,122.

Click here for more City and Community data

As far as local schools, DSUSD reported decreases in cases at the start of the week but did report a slight increase on Thursday. The two other districts continue to trend upward.

• DSUSD has reported 1,536 total (1,304 students & 232 Staff)
  • 1/17: 1,403 cases (1,186 students & 217 staff)
  • 1/14: 1,896 cases (1661 students & 233 staff).
  • 1/10: 1,072 cases (906 students and 166 staff).

• PSUSD reported 1,281 total (1,080 students & 201 staff)
  • 1/17: 847 cases (740 students & 107 staff)
  • 1/14: 562 cases (484 students & 78 staff)
  • 1/11: 72 cases (32 students and 40 staff)

• CVUSD reported 374 total (276 students and 98 staff)
  • 1/17: 286 cases (202 students and 84 staff)
  • 1/14: 137 cases (61 students & 76 staff)
  • 1/10: 66 cases (14 students and 52 staff)

DSUSD is the largest school district in the valley, while CVUSD is the smallest.

Case & Positivity Rate

Last week, the county's case rate per 100K reached its highest since it began to be recorded.

On Thursday, the county reported a decrease in the case rate for the first time this month.

• Jan. 20 - 255.1
• Jan. 19 - 257.3
• Jan. 18 - 256.0
• Jan. 14 - 212.0
• Jan. 11 - 138.6
• Jan. 10 - 103.0
• Jan. 3 - 39
• Dec. 3 - 13.6

Prior to last week, the highest case rate recorded was 152.35 cases per 100K, which was reported on Jan. 8, 2021.

The county's positivity rate broke the all-time record of last week as well. The previous record before last week was 25.32% set on Jan. 5, 2021.

The positivity rate also continued to grow to start off the week, however, Thursday also saw its first drop-off of the month.

• Jan. 20 - 35%
• Jan. 19 - 35.4%
• Jan. 18 - 34.9%
• Jan. 14 - 32.9%
• Jan. 11 - 29%
• Jan. 10 - 24.4%
• Jan. 3 - 10.7%
• Dec. 3 - 5.7%

Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage is reporting its highest ever a number of percent positivity among its patients. As of the last report on Sunday, the hospital has surpassed 40% positivity for the first time in the pandemic.

As of Jan. 18, there are at least 408 known cases of the Omicron variant in Riverside County. The first was detected in a resident of the west end of the county early last month.

Vaccination Data

59.3% (or 1,382,201 residents ages +5) of eligible Riverside County residents are fully vaccinated, according to county data.

Check Out: RIVERSIDE COUNTY CDP/CITY WEEKLY VACCINE REPORT

3,732,745 vaccine doses have been administered so far.

COVID vaccine clinics are open across Riverside County for all residents 5 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 at their vaccine appointment.

Cases in Coachella Valley Cities and Communities (As of 01/18/22)

· Bermuda Dunes
Confirmed Cases: 1,059
Deaths: 13
Recovered: 997

· Cabazon
Confirmed Cases: 456
Deaths: 7
Recovered: 431
(Note: Does not count towards the valley's total)


· Cathedral City
Confirmed Cases: 9,367
Deaths: 136
Recoveries: 8,879

· Coachella
Confirmed Cases: 9,398
Deaths: 111
Recovered: 8,932

· Desert Edge
Confirmed Cases: 467
Deaths: 19
Recovered: 429

· Desert Hot Springs
Confirmed Cases: 5,797
Deaths: 87
Recovered: 5,489

· Desert Palms
Confirmed Cases: 400
Deaths: 28
Recovered: 349

· Garnet
Confirmed Cases: 1,170
Deaths: 22
Recovered: 1,102

· Indian Wells
Confirmed Cases: 328
Deaths: 8
Recovered: 292

· Indio
Confirmed Cases: 16,491
Deaths: 253
Recoveries: 15,476

· La Quinta
Confirmed Cases: 5,307
Deaths: 72
Recovered: 4,909

· Mecca
Confirmed Cases: 1,323
Deaths: 21
Recovered: 1,247

· North Shore
Confirmed Cases: 442
Deaths: 1
Recovered: 417

· Oasis
Confirmed Cases: 1,045
Deaths: 8
Recovered: 993

· Palm Desert
Confirmed Cases: 6,106
Deaths: 139
Recovered: 5,562

· Palm Springs
Confirmed Cases: 5,504
Deaths: 140
Recovered: 5,105

· Rancho Mirage
Confirmed Cases: 1,687
Deaths: 55
Recovered: 1,540

· Sky Valley
Confirmed Cases: 331
Deaths: 6
Recovered: 309

· Thermal
Confirmed Cases: 548
Deaths: 10
Recovered: 526

· Thousand Palms
Confirmed Cases: 1,362
Deaths: 10
Recovered: 1,299

· County Jails
There are 1,407 cases in the County's jails, with 3 deaths, and 1,334 recoveries

· State Jails
There are 5,579 cases in the County's jails, with 8 deaths, and 5,537 recoveries.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coronavirus updates.