Riverside County's COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 100

City News Service
·2 min read
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Emergency Medical Technician Sharon Lopez administers the Pfizer COViD-19 vaccine to a Mecca resident during a Riverside County mobile vaccine clinic in Mecca Calif., on March 24, 2021.
Emergency Medical Technician Sharon Lopez administers the Pfizer COViD-19 vaccine to a Mecca resident during a Riverside County mobile vaccine clinic in Mecca Calif., on March 24, 2021.

The number of people hospitalized with a coronavirus infection in Riverside County has fallen back below 100, decreasing by six people to 99, according to the latest data released Saturday.

Of those patients, seven were being treated in intensive care, down from 12 on Friday.

Some patients likely entered the hospital for other reasons and discovered they had COVID-19 after a mandated test, but exact numbers are not available.

County Department of Public Health figures showed that among those hospitalized with a COVID diagnosis during the month of May, one in three patients had been fully vaccinated with a SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic. Data on the first half of June is slated to be released next week.

Officials with the Riverside University Health System said the aggregate number of COVID cases recorded since the public health documentation period began in March 2020 is 627,334.

The RUHS said that over the past 26 months, a total 6,549 deaths from virus-related complications have been recorded, up 10 from a week ago. Many of those people had underlying health conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.

The number of known active virus cases in the county, based on available data, was 5,024, compared to 5,069 a week ago. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current total — 627,334 — according to the county Executive Office. Verified patient recoveries countywide are now 615,761.

The RUHS does not report COVID data on weekends.

Meanwhile, a panel of advisors for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously approved giving COVID-19 vaccines to children as young as 6 months old on Saturday. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on the decision later in the day.

The approval applies to vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

"We have been preparing for this moment,'' President Joe Biden tweeted. "Our Administration has already secured vaccine doses for America's youngest and are now launching a comprehensive effort with states, local health departments, America's pediatricians, family doctors, and more to help get shots into arms.''

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County's COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 100