COVID-19: Riverside County cases 'drop dramatically' over past month
Riverside County's COVID-19 cases continued to decline this week, putting the numbers at 7.5% of what they were about a month ago.
Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, Riverside County reported 8,861 cases. Since then, cases have "dropped dramatically," Public Health Officer Dr. Geoffrey Leung said.
There were just 667 new COVID-19 cases between Monday and Friday. That's down 47% from the previous week, when there were 1,252 cases reported between Feb. 28 and March 4.
On Friday, the county's case rate was 7.9 per 100,000 residents, with a positivity rate of 3.7%. Both rates are down from Monday: 12.0 per 100,000 and 5.3%.
Related: CSUSB Palm Desert campus offering free COVID-19 rapid testing Monday through Friday
Among local school districts, Palm Springs Unified School District reported 14 student cases and two staff cases on Friday.
At Desert Sands Unified School District, there were active cases of COVID-19 among 13 students and one staff member.
The Coachella Valley Unified School District reported active cases within the past 10 days among 11 students and one staff member.
Students at most school districts in California, such as Palm Springs Unified and Desert Sands Unified school districts, will be able to forgo facial coverings on Monday, though they're still strongly recommended. The Coachella Valley Unified School District decided to extend its districtwide mask mandate for at least two more weeks. The board will vote on masking guidance at its next meeting on March 24.
Read more: COVID-19: Mask mandate ends in Palm Springs and, soon, in California's public schools
While the region is experiencing fewer cases, a potential new COVID-19 variant, a combination of the delta and omicron variants, has been identified.
The World Health Organization said Wednesday that the new COVID-19 combination has been detected in France, the Netherlands and Denmark. It's also been found in the U.S.
Researchers found two infections involving different versions of "deltacron," resulting from the combination of delta and omicron genetic material. Twenty other infections had both the delta and omicron variants, with one case having delta, omicron and "deltacron."
Experts say it's too soon to worry about deltacron. Compared with earlier variants, such as delta and omicron, this new variation – researchers have not adopted the "deltacron" name officially – appears unlikely to spread as easily, said William Lee, the chief science officer at Helix.
So far, in the places where deltacron has been detected, "there are very low levels of this detection," said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious disease epidemiologist and the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, during a Wednesday press conference.
For now, WHO has not seen "any change in the epidemiology," Van Kerkhove said. And regarding deltacron, "we haven't seen any change in severity. But there are many studies that are underway."
Hospitalizations also continue on their downtrend, though they are not falling as sharply as they did a few weeks ago. There were 127 patients reported Friday, down 45 since Monday. That includes 17 people in intensive care, a decrease of 14 from this week's high of 31.
Another 47 deaths were reported between Monday and Friday, bringing the total to 6,373 since the beginning of the pandemic. But that's a significant decrease from last week, when there were 102 deaths reported between Feb. 28 and March 4.
Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation found an estimated 18.2 million people may have died by the end of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than three times the official toll of 5.9 million, according to the study published Thursday in The Lancet.
South Asia had the highest number of estimated excess deaths from COVID-19 at about 5.3 million, followed by North Africa and the Middle East, both at 1.7 million. Eastern Europe had about 1.4 million excess deaths from COVID-19, the study found. Although the U.S. has yet to officially record 1 million COVID-19 deaths, the IHME study estimated the nation may already have reached 1.1 million by the end of 2021.
In Riverside County, 61% of residents ages 5 and older are fully vaccinated and another 6.9% are partially vaccinated. About 30.7% of the population ages 12 and older has received an additional/booster shot.
Read more: As COVID-19 cases drop and masks come off, Riverside County vaccination, booster rates lag
An expert group convened by the World Health Organization said Tuesday it "strongly supports urgent and broad access" to booster doses, in a reversal of the U.N. agency's previous insistence that boosters weren't necessary and contributed to vaccine inequity.
In a statement, WHO said its expert group concluded that immunization with authorized COVID-19 vaccines provide high levels of protection against severe disease and death amid the global circulation of the hugely contagious omicron variant. It said vaccination, including the use of boosters, was especially important for people at risk of severe disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends booster shots for all American adults who received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccines at least five months ago, and those who received the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson more than two months ago.
USA Today contributed to this report
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: Riverside County cases 'drop dramatically' over past month
