Riverside and San Bernardino counties are feeling the impacts of coronavirus testing problems across the country, officials said this week.
After a spike in the number of infections reported in Riverside County last week to 1,400 cases a day, the number dropped to 733 Tuesday. Brooke Federico, the county’s public information officer, said the decline is related with a backup copy of the test results. from the commercial testing laboratories LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics.
“LabCorp has released several public statements explaining that they have experienced delays in processing all the samples due to the volume that is coming in,” said Federico. The “reduction in cases in the county is not indicative that the disease is slowing down, but rather this delay in recovering results.”
Riverside County currently has the capacity to screen 4,000 people daily, about 800 more than it could test in May, Federico said. The county has evaluated nearly 300,000 people, according to the records.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health official, said that despite this week’s low count, “we are far from being out of the woods.”
“The summer heat doesn’t stop COVID-19,” he said. “We need to reduce the impact on our hospitals by reducing transmission, and as the numbers continue to rise, the state’s need to reimpose the restrictions will continue to increase as well.”
Riverside County hospitals reached 99% of capacity in their intensive care units at their peak in late June. Capacity has remained high, 90% or more, until mid-July, Federico said.
On Wednesday, 536 people were hospitalized, with 136 in the ICU, authorities said. Federico said the county can accommodate up to a 35% increase in each hospital if necessary.
In San Bernardino County, a lack of supplies is also hampering testing efforts. Last week, the county had to cancel 11,000 appointments at various sites amid the shortage, county spokesman David Wert said Wednesday.
The tests are still “severely limited and have not improved,” so the facility will take only a limited number of appointments each day, Wert said. With the reduced capacity, around 2,200 tests can be performed daily.
The county is reaching agreements with a handful of additional test vendors, which should allow the normal test capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 tests a day to return before July 27, Wert said. Records show that 185,794 People had been screened for coronavirus in San Bernardino County as of Wednesday morning.
San Bernardino County has also seen an increase in the number of hospitalizations among patients, with 587 in hospitals as of Wednesday, records show. Among those patients, 166 are in intensive care, but the county still has 177 ICU beds and 482 ventilators available for use, health officials said.
Riverside and San Bernardino are among the top five most affected counties in the state. San Bernardino County has reported 20,456 coronavirus cases and 309 deaths. Riverside County topped 25,000 cases over the weekend and had recorded 26,481 cases as of Wednesday morning, while 553 people have died in the county since the pandemic began in March.
Both counties have languished over the state coronavirus watch list and Governor Gavin Newsom ordered them Monday to close a variety of businesses, including gyms and beauty salons. Additionally, all indoor restaurants and bar service, as well as family entertainment centers such as movie theaters, zoos, and museums, were ordered closed throughout California.
Times editor Kristi Sturgill contributed to this report.
