The county remains in the red tier of the state’s tier system. The county moved from the purple to the red tier two weeks ago on Sept. 22. However, that could change if the numbers continue to increase, pushing the county back to the purple tier.
The newspaper had to go to press before it could report the outcome of the Tuesday, Oct. 6 Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting. The meeting was called to consider other options to reopen the county.
Being in the red tier allows “All remaining personal care services may return indoors, including nail salons, tattoo shops, massage services and esthetician services,” a county press release outlined. “As a reminder, hair salons and barber shops were returned indoors under the previous purple tier.
“In addition, restaurants, places of worship, movie theaters, as well as museums, zoos and aquariums may resume indoor operations up to 25% capacity. Gyms may resume indoors up to 10% capacity and indoor shopping malls up to 50% capacity.”
According to the Riverside University Health System – Public Health (RUHS) website, the area of Idyllwild-Pine Cove still has a total of 22 reported COVID-19 cases since the outbreak and one death reported. Twenty-one of the 22 people have recovered.
As of press time on Oct. 6, Riverside County has 60,867 confirmed COVID-19 cases. There are 1,244 deaths related to COVID-19 and 55,397 people have recovered. There are 142 individuals being hospitalized and of those 42 are in the intensive care unit (ICU). The county’s positivity rate is 5.0%. The current adjusted case rate per 100,000 is 7.6.
As of press time on Sept. 29, Riverside County had 59,173 confirmed COVID-19 cases. There were 1,216 deaths related to COVID-19 and 54,150 people had recovered. There were 125 individuals being hospitalized and of those 33 were in the ICU. The county’s positivity rate was 4.8%. The current adjusted case rate per 100,000 was 6.7.
As of press time on Sept. 22, Riverside County had 57,482 confirmed COVID-19 cases. There were 1,172 deaths related to COVID-19 and 52,776 people had recovered. There were 146 individuals being hospitalized and of those 42 were in the ICU.
To date, 676,791 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Riverside County, according to RUHS. The age range with the most confirmed cases is 18- to 39-year-olds. The two demographics with the highest number of cases are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino.
The county is urging residents and visitors to cover their face, keep 6 feet of distance and wash their hands.
Riverside County announced a COVID-19 business grant program. The $10,000-grant for small businesses (less than 50 employees) is on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications are available at www.RivCoBizHelp.org and will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Oct. 30. Funds may be used for payroll/employee retention, working capital, purchase of personal protective equipment, rent or mortgage payments and paying vendor invoices.
Previously, the Riverside County board of supervisors unanimously approved using $4 million in CARES Act funding for the Pathways to Employment program which will recruit 500 unemployed adults impacted by the pandemic to receive work training and mentoring. Participants will receive a stipend of $20 per hour, training and mentoring from nonprofit and government partners and supportive services including transportation, clothing, counseling and technological assistance. For more information, call 951-955-1161.
