The newspaper recently inquired with the county about the Delta Variant.
“As of today [July 8], we have 10 delta variant cases,” wrote Jose Arballo Jr, public information specialist for the county of Riverside, in an email. “As far as we know, none of the 10 were vaccinated.
“As for the specific testing, I do not know,” Arballo wrote when asked how the non-Delta Variant test differs from the Delta Variant test. “It is done at lab level before being reported to public health.” The newspaper asked which lab processes the tests and reports the results to the county.
Arballo responded, “State lab in Richmond.” He was not sure whether it is a public- or private-run lab. The newspaper asked for the name of the lab so it could inquire how the tests are conducted. The newspaper has not received a response.
Masks for K-12
The state of California announced that masks will be mandated for K-12 students. Students who refuse to wear masks will be barred from attending on-site education and provided another form of education.
The state announced the, “California Department of Public Health will continue to assess conditions on an ongoing basis and will determine no later than Nov. 1, 2021 whether to update mask requirements or recommendations.”
Masks “are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings.” Adults are required to wear masks indoors when with students. “Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition must wear a non-restrictive alternative such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge as long as their condition permits it.” Discussed later is that a face shield may be used “in the classroom as long as the wearer maintains physical distance from others. Staff must return to wearing face coverings outside the classrooms.”
“Schools must develop protocols to provide a face covering to students” who forget their mask “to prevent unnecessary exclusion.”
Riverside County data
Because the COVID-19 data is now only updated weekly on Wednesdays, the data the newspaper reports will be outdated by a week. For the most recent data, visit https://www.rivcoph.org/coronavirus.
The Riverside University Health System – Public Health (RUHS) website continues to update the numbers Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) regarding the COVID-19 shot.
The county announced, “officials said updates to the county’s website were delayed as state health officials ‘reconciled’ COVID-19 case data. The data cleaning was done as officials reviewed thousands of case files to ensure the published data accurately reflected the number of cases and other information.”
“There were some questions as to why the dashboard had not been updated since last week,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of Public Health for Riverside County said in a June 29 press release. “It was important the data we publish properly show what is happening with the pandemic and we wanted to provide the most accurate information.” The county also said the reconciliation of the data caused the “number to drop by several hundred.”
The area of Idyllwild-Pine Cove has a total of 119 reported COVID-19 cases since the outbreak and two deaths reported. One hundred and seventeen of the 119 people have recovered.
As of July 7, Riverside County had 303,062 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,648 deaths related to COVID-19 and 297,330 people had recovered. Sixty-eight individuals were being hospitalized, and of those, 12 were in the ICU.
As of July 12, 47.4% of the county population received the full dose of the COVID-19 shot.
As of July 2, Riverside County had 301,820 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,640 deaths related to COVID-19 and 296,262 people had recovered. Forty-nine individuals were being hospitalized, and of those, 14 were in the ICU.
As of July 6, 46.7% of the county population received the full dose of the COVID-19 shot.
To date, 3,300,303 total tests have been given for COVID-19 in Riverside County, according to RUHS.
For more information on the COVID-19 shot, visit www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine or call 2-1-1. Seniors can call the Riverside County Office on Aging at 800-510-2020.
