356 new COVID-19 cases, 1 death reported by county Tuesday

Jeff Pack
Staff Writer

Riverside University Health System reported 356 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and one new death. In all, 38,487 have tested positive for the virus and 738 people have died since the county began recording data back in early March. 

Health officials cautioned Monday, Aug. 3 that not all newly confirmed cases were included in the county’s daily report due to a reporting error by the state.

“A delay in case counts from the state is reflected in today’s numbers, so we expect to see significant increases next week to catch up on the delayed data,” wrote county health officer, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, on Twitter. “This will not impact data for deaths or hospitalizations.”

The county reported 380 people have recovered from the virus overnight and there were 25 more people in the hospital, 450 total. But, there are currently 133 people currently being treated in ICUs for the virus, the same number as the day before. 

The county reported that there were 300 confirmed cases in county jails and another 1,235 cases recorded in state prisons within the county. 

The county reported that 375,518 have been tested so far, 1,497 more than the day before. 

Locally, Temecula added nine new cases (692), Murrieta added seven (748), Wildomar added four (333), Lake Elsinore added 11 (785), Canyon Lake added none (55), Menifee added 10 (867), Hemet added 24 (1,024), and San Jacinto added three (702).

In local communities, Anza added no new cases (10), East Hemet added two (198), French Valley added none (201), Lakeland Village added four (138), Valley Vista added three (138), and Winchester added none (10).

So far, three people have died from Temecula, 16 from Murrieta, six from Wildomar, 15 from Lake Elsinore, 12 from Menifee, 33 from Hemet, 11 from San Jacinto, two from East Hemet, one from French Valley and Lakeland Village, and none from Canyon Lake, Anza, Valle Vista or Winchester. 

The number of known active virus cases countywide is 17,670, compared to 17,695 a day earlier. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total, according to the County Executive Office.

“We have seen a downward trend in hospitalizations for the past 10 days,” county Emergency Management Department Director Bruce Barton told the Board of Supervisors this morning. “In the prior week, we were (averaging) 475 in the hospital each day. But we’ve steadily seen COVID-positive hospitalizations go down. ICU utilization has also leveled off and come down slightly.”

According to Barton, the greatest number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations are in county District 4, which encompasses the Coachella Valley. Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage has seen the heaviest demand for COVID-19 treatment, requiring a 19-person federal medical team to assist on-site staff, the EMD director said.

County Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari told the board that District 4 also has the highest proportion of coronavirus-related deaths. She further acknowledged that nearly two-thirds — 63% — of all loses countywide coded as COVID-19 were correlated to underlying conditions, principally chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, diabetes and kidney disease.

Most of the county’s deaths stemming from complications tied to COVID-19 have been people between the ages of 65 and 84, according to RUHS.

The doubling time — or the number of days in which documented virus cases increase 100% — is 28 days. A doubling rate of seven days is considered severe.

City News Service contributed to this report. 

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