RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Riverside County health officials reported 100 newly confirmed coronavirus cases today, and three more fatalities, bringing the countywide totals to 4,454 cases and 184 deaths.
Of the 215 county residents who are hospitalized with COVID-19 — the disease caused by the virus — 75 are being treated in intensive care units, three fewer than Monday, according to the Riverside University Health System.
Riverside County has the second-highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the state, behind Los Angeles County.
The number of documented recoveries is 1,997, up by 26 from Monday.
The updated figures came as the Board of Supervisors heard public comment regarding the proposed lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions implemented by county Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser.
Kaiser extended the county’s emergency health order last week mandating social-distancing practices and requiring face coverings for residents when outside their homes, calling the restrictions “the new normal in Riverside County.”
The next day, Supervisor Manuel Perez said he intended to ask the board to terminate the local public health orders this week, claiming evidence shows the threat is receding and the need for economic recovery is growing.
County orders still in effect include requiring face coverings be worn outside the home at all times, under penalty of misdemeanor charges and fines; banning short-term rentals except in the case of providing emergency shelter for vulnerable people; a limit on playing golf; school closures; and mandated social distancing.
County officials on Tuesday announced eight new state-funded coronavirus testing sites are set to open Wednesday throughout Riverside County, with the combined capacity to test an additional 1,000 people per day.
Free testing for all residents regardless of symptoms will be administered at the new locations by OptumServe, a private company. The new sites will not replace four drive-up testing sites run by county public health officials in Perris, Indio, Riverside and Lake Elsinore, which remain operational.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 58,878 Riverside County residents have been tested, which accounts for slightly more than 2% of the county’s population of nearly 2.5 million.
