RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Riverside County’s coronavirus positivity rate climbed to 5.6% amid a significant increase in the volume of people being tested countywide, health officials told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The aggregate number of COVID-19 infections recorded since the public health documentation period began in early March is 66,993, compared to 66,732 on Monday, which is 261 more new cases overnight, according to the Riverside University Health System.
The Riverside University Health System reported eight additional deaths tied to COVID-19, bringing the county’s death toll from the virus to 1,303.
The number of COVID-positive hospitalizations is now 166, compared to 164 previously, and that includes 58 intensive care unit patients — two less than Monday.
According to Department of Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari, the county’s testing rate has reached 221.6 per 100,000, compared to 195.5 per 100,000 a week ago. The state’s threshold for large counties is 239.1 per 100,000.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of effort to increase testing in the county,” Saruwatari said.
With the increase in screening, there has been a rise in positive results. The state-adjusted 5.6% positivity rate compares to an overall rate of 5.2% last week. Additionally, the daily COVID-19 case rate is now 10.1 per 100,000 under the California Department of Public’s Health criteria. The previous rate calculated by the state was 9.1 per 100,000.
The agency last Tuesday reclassified the county in the “purple tier,” the most restrictive under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s color-coded coronavirus regulatory framework, meaning some businesses that had reopened in recent weeks were required to close again.
The number of known active virus cases countywide is 5,781, down 140 since Monday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 66,993 — according to the County Executive Office.
The number of verified patient recoveries is 59,909.
