First Omicron COVID-19 Variant Reported In Riverside County

TEMECULA, CA — Riverside County has reported its first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

"We knew that it was likely the variant would eventually arrive in Riverside County, so this is no surprise or cause for widespread concern," said Kim Saruwatari, director of public health.
"The same steps that helped protect us against the virus in the past remain in place."

Officials received confirmation of the case this week. Authorities are investigating whether the individual traveled before testing positive in Los Angeles County on Dec. 8.

Meanwhile, the Riverside University Health System also reported COVID- 19 hospitalizations in the county increased by one Friday to 309, while the number of those patients in intensive care was 76, down three from Thursday.

The aggregate number of COVID cases recorded in the county since the pandemic began in March 2020 rose by 560 since Thursday, reaching 385,788.

A total of 5,529 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded in the county in the past 20 months. The fatalities are trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates and can go back weeks, according to health officials.

The number of known active virus cases countywide was 4,320 on Friday, down 179 from Thursday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total -- 385,788 -- according to the county Executive Office. Verified patient recoveries countywide are 375,939.

According to state officials, the first Omicron case reported in California was in San Francisco on Dec. 1.