COVID-19: Cases increase slightly in valley, but 'too early' to tell if Thanksgiving is culprit

Ema Sasic, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·6 min read

COVID-19 cases in the nine Coachella Valley cities increased again in the week ending Monday, but "it's still too early" to tell if holiday gatherings are the reason for it, a Riverside County official said.

There were 491 cases reported in the week ending Monday, up nearly 14% compared to the previous week, when there were 432 cases between Nov. 22 and 29.

Shane Reichardt, public information officer for the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department, said, "Though the numbers are up slightly, it's still too early to correlate that increase with Thanksgiving." County spokesperson Jose Arballo Jr. previously told The Desert Sun that the public health department would be monitoring cases and watch for any increases. If there is an increase, he said it would start approximately 12 to 15 days after Thanksgiving.

As more holiday gatherings and family celebrations take place, the county continues to recommend people practice healthy habits, Reichardt said, such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs and avoiding gatherings when sick, in addition to COVID-19 precautions in place.

Reported deaths continued to fall in the past week in the Coachella Valley. There were two reported in the week ending Monday, down from six between Nov. 22 and 29. The two deaths were reported in Cathedral City and La Quinta.

Here is a full breakdown of confirmed cases, deaths and recoveries by city for the week ending Monday:

  • Cathedral City: 8,540 confirmed cases (+70), 133 deaths (+1), 8,328 recoveries (+56)

  • Coachella: 8,749 confirmed cases (+49), 110 deaths (+0), 8,577 recoveries (+37)

  • Desert Hot Springs: 5,282 confirmed cases (+56), 86 deaths (+0), 5,138 recoveries (+45)

  • Indian Wells: 264 confirmed cases (+7), 8 deaths (+0), 250 recoveries (+5)

  • Indio: 14,859 confirmed cases (+115), 247 deaths (+0), 14,447 recoveries (+98)

  • La Quinta: 4,554 confirmed cases (+44), 70 deaths (+1), 4,433 recoveries (+27)

  • Palm Desert: 5,236 confirmed cases (+73), 136 deaths (+0), 5,020 recoveries (+64)

  • Palm Springs: 4,910 confirmed cases (+60), 137 deaths (+0), 4,709 recoveries (+46)

  • Rancho Mirage: 1,457 confirmed cases (+17), 54 deaths (+0), 1,386 recoveries (+19)

There were also 55 new COVID-19 cases reported in the past week in unincorporated communities in the Coachella Valley.

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The Palm Springs Unified School District reported 17 students and five staff members have current positive tests for COVID-19. There are four cases at Cielo Vista Charter School as of Monday.

The Desert Sands Unified School District reported 58 students and 12 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. La Quinta High School reported 11 active cases among students and staff, the most of any school in the district as of Monday.

The Coachella Valley Unified School District on Monday reported a total of 11 active COVID-19 cases among students and six among staff. Coachella Valley High School has six cases, according to the district.

Related: Community vigil remembers 1,100 local residents who died from COVID-19

More: Need a booster? Here's where you can find them in the Coachella Valley

Overall, Riverside County added 1,294 COVID-19 cases since Friday.

On Monday, the county's case rate was 13.9 per 100,000, and its positivity rate was 6.5%. Both numbers increased from Friday, when the rates were 13.6 per 100,000 and 5.7%.

Riverside County currently has a "substantial" community transmission rate, which is defined as having 50 to 99 cumulative cases per 100,000 in the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations decreased by two since Friday, and there are currently 243 patients. That includes 63 individuals in intensive care, up three since Friday.

One reported death was removed from Riverside County's count since Friday, bringing the total to 5,475 since the beginning of the pandemic.

In Riverside County, 56.8% of residents ages 5 and older are fully vaccinated and another 6.8% are partially vaccinated. There have been 300,192 additional/booster doses administered, or 15.9% of adults ages 18 and older have received a booster in the county. The Office of the Governor of California Twitter account announced Monday that 6.6 million Californians have received their booster shots.

The county released updated vaccination rates per age group on Monday:

  • 5-11: 3.2% fully vaccinated (7,236); 6% partially vaccinated (13,542)

  • 12-17: 49.5% fully vaccinated (105,296); 6% partially vaccinated (12,809)

  • 12 and older: 62.6% fully vaccinated (1,316,341); 6.7% partially vaccinated (139,928)

  • 18 and older: 64.1% fully vaccinated (1,211,045); 6.7% partially vaccinated (127,119)

  • 65 and older: 72.3% fully vaccinated (295,416); 7.1% partially vaccinated (28,858)

Vaccination rates in the Coachella Valley among ages 5 and older, according to county data, are:

  • Cathedral City: 68.17% fully vaccinated; 8.3% partially vaccinated; 9.82% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Coachella: 57.41% fully vaccinated; 8.69% partially vaccinated; 8.09% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Desert Hot Springs: 60.36% fully vaccinated; 8.16% partially vaccinated; 5.82% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Indian Wells: 77.51% fully vaccinated; 10.27% partially vaccinated; 12.96% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Indio: 61.48% fully vaccinated; 8.9% partially vaccinated; 9.33% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • La Quinta: 69.77% fully vaccinated; 8.28% partially vaccinated; 12.48% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Palm Desert: 75.08% fully vaccinated; 9.21% partially vaccinated; 13.09% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Palm Springs: 79.72% fully vaccinated; 9.66% partially vaccinated; 9.29% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

  • Rancho Mirage: 82.6% fully vaccinated; 9.18% partially vaccinated; 12.97% of children ages 5-11 partially vaccinated

Riverside County has not confirmed a case of the omicron variant, but it continues to monitor for it through testing.

Nearby Los Angeles County reported its second case of the variant on Monday. The individual is a college student who returned to the county after holiday travel on the East Coast, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and infection was likely acquired outside of Los Angeles County. The person is fully vaccinated, experienced mild symptoms and is self-isolating.

The public health department has identified close contacts in Los Angeles County, who are quarantining and being tested, and is working with the university, which was not named, to determine if there are any additional close contacts.

Ema Sasic covers health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: COVID-19: Coachella Valley sees another increase in cases