Riverside County Orders Halt To All Assemblies Of Over 250 People

Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser Thursday issued a blanket order prohibiting public gatherings that exceed 250 people as a precautionary measure to mitigate potential spread of the novel coronavirus.

“These restrictions may seem harsh, given the relatively low number of coronavirus cases in Riverside County, but they are necessary if we are going to stop the spread of COVID-19,” Kaiser said. “I do not take these restrictions lightly, and clearly they will impact many in organizations and individuals in the community. We’re in this together, and I believe they’re necessary to slow and eventually stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Kaiser said the emergency order is modeled on recommendations issued by the California Department of Public Health. More information is available at https://rivcoph.org/coronavirus.

A sixth coronavirus case was confirmed Thursday morning, and like the other five, the patient is from the Coachella Valley, according to health officials. Kaiser said the patient is in home isolation, and he verified that the infection was “locally acquired” and not the result of overseas travel.

On Wednesday evening, Kaiser said a fifth valley resident had been identified as viral. However, the status of that person was not disclosed.

At their meeting Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors formally ratified a local public health emergency declaration stemming from the coronavirus cases, directing key agencies to initiate efforts to mitigate potential impacts of the virus. The action also empowered Kaiser to issue directives intended to promote the health and welfare of residents.

One of his first acts was to order cancellation of the highly popular Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival, both of which have been moved to October.

“This decision was not taken … without consideration of many factors,” the doctor said. “No doubt it will impact many people, but my top priority is to protect the health of the entire community.”

The rescheduling of the music festivals, which annually attract tens of thousands of attendees to the Coachella Valley, followed the cancellation of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at Indian Wells, which was scheduled to begin this week.

UC Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox announced Tuesday that all in- person classes on campus will be suspended until at least April 3 based on mounting concerns over potential coronavirus exposure, leaving teachers and students to interact via the internet or other remote means.

“As local, national and global public health recommendations shift to include mitigation of transmission, we are proactively taking steps that will help protect the community,” Wilcox said. “(Our) measures will allow us greater flexibility as we work to prevent … spread of COVID-19.”

The campus resembled a ghost town Thursday, with most parking lots on the south edge of campus empty. The chancellor suggested students in campus housing return to their permanent residences for the next few weeks, if they desired, to continue their studies at home.

UCR will not permit gatherings of 150 people or more, and even gatherings of 15 or fewer attendees are discouraged under the new protocol. If a gathering is essential and cannot feasibly be moved to an electronic platform, it may be considered for special dispensation, according Wilcox.

Athletic events will go ahead as planned but will have to be “fan- less,” with no general attendance permitted.

UCR officials noted that anyone displaying any flu-like symptoms or illness that could be viral should stay home and avoid contacts anywhere in the community.

In Moreno Valley, officials announced postponement of all municipal events until at least the end of May, and beginning Monday, all programs at the city’s Senior Center, Main and Mall libraries will no longer be permitted to host gatherings. However, the facilities will remain open and services available, officials said.

“The evidence we’ve seen so far from other parts of the country tells us the rate of infection in our region is going to get worse before it gets better,” Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez said Thursday. “We would be negligent not to take these actions.”

On Sunday and Monday, four county residents were identified as coronavirus patients, the result of local exposure to the pathogen and not because of overseas travel, Kaiser said.

“It is now considered a case of `community spread,”‘ according to a Riverside University Health System statement. “Community spread involves transmission of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It indicates that the virus was not contracted through relevant travel history, or contact to a known case of COVID-19, and suggests that the virus is present in the community.”

Two county residents were infected while on a cruise ship that later docked in San Francisco Bay. They were not infected locally, according to health officials.

Frequent hand washing, social distancing and basic hygiene were emphasized as good precautionary practices against infection.