COVID-Positive Patients In Riverside County Hospitals Surpass 800

RIVERSIDE, CA — The number of COVID-positive patients in Riverside County hospitals has surpassed 800, rising to 823 Saturday, up from 791 on Friday, according to the latest state figures.

The number of those patients in intensive care was 134 Saturday, up from 126 the previous day.

The latest numbers come one day after the county reported an additional 11 virus-related deaths and 1,699 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its cumulative totals to 412,225 cases and 5,631 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to the Riverside University Health System.

Fatalities are considered trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates and can go back weeks, according to health officials.

The number of known active virus cases in the county was 14,948 as of Friday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total -- 412,225. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 391,646.

The RUHS does not update COVID data on weekends.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday unveiled a proposed $2.7 billion COVID- 19 emergency response package as part of his next budget proposal, including a $1.4 billion emergency appropriation request to bolster testing capacity, accelerate vaccination and booster efforts, support frontline workers, strengthen the health care system and "battle misinformation."

On Friday, Newsom announced the activation the California National Guard to provide additional testing capacity amid the national surge in COVID- 19 cases driven by the Omicron variant.

"California has led the country's fight against COVID-19, implementing first-in-the-nation public health measures that have helped save tens of thousands of lives," Newsom said. "We continue to support communities in their response to COVID by bolstering testing capacity."

—City News Service