Riverside, San Bernardino counties qualify for yellow tier, but it’s too late

Riverside and San Bernardino counties have hit their first week of qualifying for the yellow, or minimal risk, tier in the state’s coronavirus reopening framework, but they’re a week too late.

Both counties met the state’s qualifications of a 1.9 case rate or lower per day per 100,000 residents to move into the lowest-risk tier. But the rate must be maintained for two consecutive weeks and that system goes away June 15, when the state reopens. So, as local health officials had said, both counties will remain in the orange, or moderate risk, tier.

Riverside County’s case rate dropped to 1.6 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents on Tuesday, county metrics showed. San Bernardino County’s case rate fell to 1.5 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents, data show.

Though case rates have gone down in the past few weeks, both counties have had a lower vaccination rate overall, compared with surrounding counties such as Los Angeles and Orange. Inland Empire public health officials have pointed to possible factors, such as low-income residents who are unable to take time off to travel to vaccination sites or to residents who don’t want to be vaccinated.

Riverside County reported 31 more COVID-19 cases and two deaths Tuesday. Forty-nine patients were in the hospital. Over 870,000 residents are fully vaccinated in the county.

In San Bernardino County, health officials reported 31 more cases and two deaths. Forty-nine patients were hospitalized. More than 715,000 residents are fully vaccinated.

Los Angeles County, which has been in the yellow tier for a little more than a month, has a case rate of 1.3 positive cases per day per 100,000 residents.

Here are the latest numbers as of Tuesday, according to county

and state public health officials.

Riverside County

• Confirmed cases: 301,128, up 115 from Monday, averaging 57 reported per day in the past week.

Deaths: 4,618, no change from Monday, averaging one reported per day in the past week.

• Hospital survey: 32 confirmed and 18 suspected patients hospitalized Monday, including five confirmed and one suspected patient in the ICU, with all 21 facilities reporting. The number of confirmed patients is unchanged from a week earlier.

• Tests: 3,166,504, up 3,959 from Monday, averaging 5,173 reported per day in the past week.

• Recovered cases: 295,675, up 11 from Monday, averaging 55 per day in the past week.

• Vaccinations: Riverside County residents have received 1,882,379 doses, with 193,747 people partially vaccinated and another 870,396 fully vaccinated, as of Monday. The number of residents who have received at least one dose is up 22,305 in the past week.

• Reopening plan tier: Orange (moderate risk level; some indoor business operations are open with modifications) based on these metrics as of Tuesday:

• New cases per day per 100,000 residents: 1.6.

• Case rate adjusted for testing volume: 1.6.

• Test positivity rate: 1.2% (1.3% in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods).

• What’s next: To advance to the yellow tier where more businesses can open or expand capacity, the county would need an adjusted case rate below 2.0 and a positivity rate below 2.0% for the whole county and 2.2% in disadvantaged neighborhoods for two consecutive weeks, and to have been in the orange tier for three weeks. Riverside County moved to the orange tier April 6.

San Bernardino County

• Confirmed cases: 298,728, up 31 from Monday, averaging 26 reported per day in the past week.

• Deaths: 4,584, up 2 from Monday, averaging three reported per day in the past week.

• Hospital survey: 49 confirmed and eight suspected patients hospitalized Monday, including 14 confirmed and no suspected patients in the ICU, with 24 of 25 facilities reporting. The number of confirmed patients is down 21% from a week earlier.

• Tests: 3,298,353, up 3,005 from Monday, averaging 4,673 reported per day in the past week.

• Resolved cases (estimate): 293,405, up 67 from Monday, averaging 40 per day in the past week.

• Vaccinations: San Bernardino County residents have received 1,549,536 doses, with 161,565 people partially vaccinated and another 716,850 fully vaccinated, as of Monday. The number of residents who have received at least one dose is up 20,830 in the past week.

• Reopening plan tier: Orange (moderate risk level; some indoor business operations are open with modifications) based on these metrics as of Tuesday:

• New cases per day per 100,000 residents: 1.5.

• Case rate adjusted for testing volume: 1.5.

• Test positivity rate: 1.0% (1.2% in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods).

• What’s next: To advance to the yellow tier where more businesses can open or expand capacity, the county would need an adjusted case rate below 2.0 and a positivity rate below 2.0% for the whole county and 2.2% in disadvantaged neighborhoods for two consecutive weeks, and to have been in the orange tier for three weeks. San Bernardino County moved to the orange tier April 6.

Los Angeles County

• Confirmed cases: 1,245,429, up 162 from Monday, averaging 180 reported per day in the past week.

• Deaths: 24,404, up 12 from Monday, averaging eight reported per day in the past week.

• Hospital survey: 243 confirmed and 57 suspected patients hospitalized Monday, including 40 confirmed and 5 suspected patients in the ICU, with 90 of 92 facilities reporting. The number of confirmed patients is down 4% from a week earlier.

• People tested: About 6,836,000, up about 6,000 from Monday, averaging 9,000 reported per day in the past week.

• Vaccinations: L.A. County residents have received 9,826,212 doses, with 976,811 people partially vaccinated and another 4,599,424 fully vaccinated, as of Monday. The number of residents who have received at least one dose is up 119,815 in the past week.

• Reopening plan tier: Yellow (minimal risk level; most indoor business operations are open with modifications) based on these metrics as of Tuesday:

• New cases per day per 100,000 residents: 1.3.

• Case rate adjusted for testing volume: 0.7.

• Test positivity rate: 0.4% (0.4% in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods).

This includes numbers from L.A. County Public Health as well as Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own health departments and are typically a day ahead of the county in reporting their cities’ cases and deaths.