RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KNX) — Riverside County public health authorities reported 17 new deaths caused by COVID-19 on Wednesday — the highest single-day total in a month.
The report followed a surge in infections and hospitalizations across Riverside County and the broader Southern California region, likely attributable to the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants. Wednesday's total raises the number of Riverside County residents who've died from COVID-19 to 5,572, according to county data.
The number of patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses in RIverside County hospitals passed 400 for the first time in three months this week. Hospitalizations crested 431 on Tuesday. The last time hospitalizations were that high was in September, at the height of a surge driven by the Delta variant.
The county reported 24 deaths on a single day on Nov. 29. Los Angeles County reported 25 new deaths on Wednesday. San Bernardino County reported one.
Jose Arballo Jr., a spokesperson for the Riverside University Health System, told The Riverside Press Enterprise that county hospitals were better prepared in 2021 to handle anticipated influx of patients than last year.
"We are nowhere near the levels we were at last year at this time," he said.
Hospitalizations for the winter of 2020-2021 peaked at 1,671 in January.
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