907 new COVID-19 cases, one death reported by county Tuesday

Jeff Pack
Staff Writer

Riverside University Health System reported 907 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and one death due to the virus since Monday. In all, 30,890 have tested positive for the virus and 589 people have died since the county began recording data back in early March.

The county reported 263 people have recovered from the virus overnight and there were 19 more people in the hospital, 536 total. There are currently 135 people currently being treated in ICUs for the virus, four more since the day before. 

The county reported that there were 271 confirmed cases in county jails and another 1,201 cases recorded in state prisons within the county. 

On Tuesday, the county reported that 329,415 have been tested so far, 5,690 more than the day before, 

Locally, Temecula added 16 cases (555). Murrieta added 19 (605), Wildomar added seven (258), Lake Elsinore added 26 (608), Canyon Lake added one (44), Menifee added 36 (688), Hemet added 18 (772), and San Jacinto added 15 (543).

In local communities, Anza added no new cases (7), East Hemet added four (157), French Valley added seven (165), Lakeland Village added five (97), Valley Vista added six (107), and Winchester added one new case (7).

So far, two people have died from Temecula, 12 from Murrieta, five from Wildomar, 10 from Lake Elsinore, none from Canyon Lake, nine from Menifee, 30 from Hemet, nine from San Jacinto, none from Anza, two from East Hemet, one from French Valley, two from Lakeland Village, none from Valle Vista or Winchester. 

Out of all the patients being treated in Riverside County, only two are from neighboring Imperial County, the site of a coronavirus outbreak that overwhelmed the county’s two hospitals, forcing some patients to be transferred to Riverside County.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, said Monday the county is in the midst of a surge, and that surge should not be blamed on Imperial County.

“We are experiencing a real local community spread surge that requires real local community awareness and responsibility to stop the surge,” Ruiz, who is also an emergency room doctor, posted on Facebook. “Blaming the surge on Imperial County patients is not based on evidence and the misinformation diminishes the urgency and need to take local public health precautions that will help our local community stop the surge.”

City News Service contributed to this report. 

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at jpack@reedermedia.com.