No plans for a mask mandate in Riverside County as COVID cases spike

Riverside County is reporting a spike in coronavirus cases over the past week.

This week, the county reported 4,437 new cases with more than 700 of those in thee Coachella Valley.

The two weeks prior, the Coachella Valley was averaging a little more than 400 cases in a week, so this past week is nearly double that. 

The county's case rate is up to 17.5%, which is up more than 6% in one week. The positivity rate is also up. 

County officials told News Channel 3 that right now, they are not considering implementing another masking mandate. 

"I'm not gonna say never, I think it's important that you have to be open. But unless there's a new variant or something different, I would say right now, I wouldn't recommend it," said county Supervisor Karen Spiegel. "We have experts, we have our public health director and our public health official and you know what we go by their recommendations."