Riverside County COVID hospitalizations jump nearly 30% compared to 1 week ago
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CNS) -- Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients have climbed past 600 in Riverside County, which also is reporting 2,027 new coronavirus infections and four additional virus-related deaths.
According to data released Monday by the Riverside University Health System, 64 new COVID-related hospitalizations were reported over the weekend, bringing the countywide number to 621. The number of patients admitted to intensive care units increased by 25 from Friday, to 131.
The last time the county hit 600 hospitalizations was Nov. 30, according to agency spokesman Jose Arballo.
The four additional virus-related deaths reported Monday brought the county's total to 4,701. Fatalities are trailing indicators because of delays processing death certificates, and can date back weeks.
The 2,027 new cases reported Monday brought the aggregate number of COVID infections recorded in the county to 327,971 since March 2020, when the pandemic began. The number of known active virus cases countywide was 7,064, down 58 from Friday.
The new data came on a day the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave full approval to the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. It was the first of the three U.S. vaccines to receive such approval. All three versions of the vaccine have been in circulation under an "emergency use'' authorization from the FDA.
Last week, federal health officials recommended that all vaccinated Americans get a booster shot eight months after they become fully vaccinated. That amounts to a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine -- and "likely'' an additional dose for people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.
Those shots could begin the week of Sept. 20, according to a joint statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
According to the RUHS, more than 61% of all county residents have either been fully or partially vaccinated.
County health officials are also attempting to collect statistics on the number of hospitalizations involving residents who have been partially or fully vaccinated, according to Arballo.
The recent increase in COVID cases mirrors a nationwide surge, and health officials say the highly contagious Delta variant has helped fuel the escalation, as has the relaxation of state lockdown measures in June.
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