Riverside County health officials on Friday reported 3,884 new coronavirus cases and 67 deaths since Wednesday

Riverside County's amount of confirmed COVID-19 cases continued its exponential rise on Friday with 3,884 new cases reported since Wednesday. The county's death toll also increased by 67 during that same period of time.

The Desert Sun is reporting data since Wednesday as Thursday's numbers were not updated in time for the news organization's deadline.

Earlier this week, according to data provided by county public health officials and Johns Hopkins University, the county exceeded 200,000 COVID-19 cases, joining seven other U.S. counties that have also reached this grim milestone. 

It took Riverside County about nine months to amass 100,000 cases, hitting that threshold on Dec. 8. It has more than doubled that total in less than a month.

The county, on Friday, had confirmed 207,841 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, according to its COVID-19 dashboard. And the county death toll had increased to 2,218 as of Friday.

Home to about 2.5 million people, Riverside County is California's fourth most-populous county. It continues to record the third-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, behind San Bernardino (the second-highest) and Los Angeles counties. 

Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous, also leads counties across the U.S. with more than 872,000 reported within its borders.

Riverside County only reports fatalities, for any cause, after death certificates have been submitted and recorded. 

According to the county, 134,691 people have recovered as of Friday, which is about 64.8% of the overall cases that have been confirmed in the county.

Coronavirus hospitalizations continued to climb in Riverside County on Friday, with a record-breaking 1,648 COVID-19 patients reported in area hospitals, according to public health officials. That's an increase of 37 patients from Wednesday. Of those hospitalized in Riverside County, a record of 370  are being cared for in intensive care units as of Friday — an increase of 27 since Wednesday.

The Southern California region, which includes Riverside County, is currently under a stay-at-home order that is in effect for regions with alarmingly low levels of available hospital and intensive care unit beds. Riverside County dropped to 0% available ICU capacity two weeks ago and still remains.

Riverside County: By the numbers

Active cases: The number of known, active cases countywide was 70,932 on Friday. That's an increase of 2,775 since Wednesday. The active count is derived by subtracting deaths and recoveries from the current case total, according to the county's executive office.

Recoveries: According to the county, 134,691 people have recovered, which is about  65.8% of its overall confirmed cases.

Tests: A total of 1,772,976 coronavirus tests have been administered in Riverside County, according to officials. There were 23,929 additional tests administered between Wednesday and Thursday. 

Vaccines: As of Sunday, the county has received 25,310 COVID-19 vaccine doses and 17,294 residents have been vaccinated.

Who is contracting the virus?

About 9.6% of COVID-19 cases countywide have been diagnosed among people ages 65 and older. But people over 65 account for about 71.2% of the county's virus-related deaths. 

Here are the county's total cases, according to data from health officials, broken down by age:

• 4,238 cases (2.2%) were among people ages 0 to 4
• 20,286 cases (10.4%) were among people ages 5 to 17
• 82,365 cases (42%) were among people ages 18 to 39
• 69,842 cases (35.6%) were among people ages 40 to 64
• 14,534 cases (7.4%) were among people ages 65 to 79
• 4,618 cases (2.4%) were among people ages 80 years or older

Total deaths are also broken down by age:

• 2 deaths (.1%) were among people ages 0 to 17
• 11 deaths (0.5%) were among people ages 18 to 24
• 91 deaths (4.3%) were among people ages 25 to 44
• 501 deaths (23.9%) were among people ages 45 to 64
• 1,036 deaths (49.4%) were among people ages 65 to 84
• 457 deaths (21.8%) were among people 85 years or older

Coachella Valley: Cases so far

Health officials on Friday reported 716 new cases and 14 additional virus-related deaths in the Coachella Valley since Wednesday. The Desert Sun did not report the numbers Thursday. Here's the city and community breakdown, with the numbers in parentheses showing increases since Wednesday:

• Cathedral City: 5,023 cases (+92), 57 deaths (+2) and 3,461 recoveries
• Coachella: 6,019 cases (+111), 52 deaths (+3) and 4,434 recoveries
• Desert Hot Springs: 2,852 cases (+29), 40 deaths and 1,992 recoveries
• Indian Wells: 150 cases (+4), 5 deaths and 101 recoveries
• Indio: 8,894 cases (+171), 135 deaths (+8) and 6,318 recoveries
• La Quinta: 2,355 cases (+42), 30 deaths and 1,566 recoveries
• Palm Desert: 2,770 cases (+68), 73 deaths and 1,866 recoveries
• Palm Springs: 2,651 cases (+53), 78 deaths and 1,835 recoveries
• Rancho Mirage: 716 cases (+30), 26 deaths and 448 recoveries
• Unincorporated communities: Bermuda Dunes: 430 cases (+7), 5 deaths and 299 recoveries; Desert Edge: 234 cases (+5), 8 deaths and 138 recoveries; Desert Palms: 182 cases (+7), 13 deaths and 111 recoveries; Garnet: 634 cases (+7), 9 deaths and 430 recoveries; Mecca: 891 cases (+42), 15 deaths (+1) and 689 recoveries; North Shore: 287 cases (+6), 2 deaths and 245 recoveries; Oasis: 679 cases (+17), 6 deaths and 521 recoveries; Sky Valley: 134 cases (+5), 2 deaths and 86 recoveries; Thermal: 357 cases (+10), 4 deaths and 278 recoveries; Thousand Palms: 673 cases (+8), 4 deaths and 481 recoveries; Vista Santa Rosa: 229 cases (+2), 2 deaths and 168 recoveries
• Vaccines: As of Jan. 3, Riverside County has received 25,310 COVID-19 vaccine doses and 17,294 county residents have been vaccinated.
• California's numbers, as of Saturday: 2,621,277 cases (+52,636) and 29,233 deaths (+695)                            

Estefania Moreira is an intern at The Desert Sun. You may reach her at  estefania.moreira@desertsun.com.