RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – The number of people hospitalized for coronavirus fell over the weekend in Riverside County, and only one death due to the disease was reported, the latest figures from the Riverside University Health System show. .
Compared to Friday’s numbers, there were 28 fewer patients hospitalized on Monday due to COVID-19, according to data showing a total of 507 people currently receiving treatment. Of that total, 131 patients are in the ICU, up from one since Friday.
A week ago, the total number of hospitalizations across the county was 511, with 139 of those patients in the ICU.
Despite relatively flat figures over a one-week period, certain hospitals are struggling with increasing patient load. On Thursday, a team of active military medical personnel comprised of doctors and nurses arrived at Eisenhower Health Hospital in Rancho Mirage to support the facility as it faces an influx of patients with COVID-19. The team of doctors, physician assistants, critical care nurses, and respiratory technicians assigned to Eisenhower is part of the state’s request for federal support.
Of all the COVID-19 patients being treated in Riverside County, only two are from neighboring Imperial County, the site of a coronavirus outbreak that overwhelmed both of that county’s hospitals, forcing some patients to be transferred to Riverside County.
Rep. Raúl Ruiz, a Democrat from Palm Desert, said Monday that the county is in the midst of a surge, and that Imperial County should not be blamed.
“We are experiencing a real increase in the spread of the local community that requires real awareness and responsibility of the local community to stop the increase,” Ruiz, who is also an emergency room physician, posted on Facebook. “Blaming the increase on Imperial County patients is not based on evidence, and misinformation diminishes the urgency and the need to take local public health precautions that will help our local community stop the increase.”
Riverside County’s total COVID-19 case count is 29,983, an increase of 1,288 from Friday. Of the total count, 10,795 people have recovered from the disease. The number of people who have died from the virus is now 588, according to RUHS data.
A week ago, the number of COVID-19 cases was reported at 25,748 and the number of deaths was 550, an increase of 4,235 and 38, respectively.
The number of people screened for COVID-19 across the county was reported at 323,725 on Monday.
