Coronavirus: Riverside County Surpasses 4,000 Cases; Supervisor To Call For End To Mandates
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) — Just one day after Riverside County's public health director extended mandates requiring face coverings in public and social distancing, a county supervisor said he will propose next week that all local orders be rescinded.
Board of Supervisors Chair Manuel Perez said Thursday that he would ask the full board on Tuesday to terminate all remaining local public health orders amid evidence that the threat of the novel coronavirus recedes and the need for economic recovery grows.
"Our data and metrics show that we have conducted over 50,000 (COVID-19) tests at five locations, which is 2% of our county's population," Perez said. "We prepared for the expected hospital surge with two Federal Medical Stations that we have not had to use. Our hospital bed and ICU bed use have remained relatively consistent. These data explain why our original modeling has changed."
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Perez said he and Supervisor Karen Spiegel will present a joint motion to nullify the county's four active health orders Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser amended Wednesday to keep in effect through June 19.
If a majority of the board votes to rescind, the county will revert to alignment with only mandates issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which focus on staying in the home under voluntary quarantine, with exceptions for so-called "essential" businesses and meeting everyday needs for personal well-being.
According to Riverside University Health System, the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations was down to 212, compared to nearly 230 last week.
There have been 4,031 documented infections, though Kaiser and other RUHS staff predicted a possible surge of up to 65,000 infections by the first week of May, later revised to 13,000 with 200 deaths — neither of which will likely happen.
As of Thursday, there have been 149 documented deaths in Riverside County and 1,483 recoveries.
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