RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Coronavirus "will eventually impact someone you love," warned the chairman of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors during a press briefing Wednesday morning in the Coachella Valley where it was announced there are additional confirmed cases of the illness countywide and many more expected in the coming days and weeks.

The death toll also increased, it was announced. As of Wednesday evening, there are 107 coronavirus cases countywide, and the death toll stands at eight. Seven of deaths occurred in the Coachella Valley, but the latest was a man in his 70s living in an area public health officials call the county's mid-region, which includes Banning, Hemet and Anza, according to Jose Arballo, spokesman for the Riverside University Health System.

V. Manuel Perez, Fourth District chairman, told reporters Wednesday that the county is planning for a surge in cases. "The virus doesn't discriminate," he said, as he urged people to follow state and local orders regarding social distancing and closures.



Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Alberto Gutierrez confirmed Tuesday night that a worker at a Moreno Valley Amazon fulfillment center is among those who tested positive for the disease. "It is not known if the worker lives in the City of Moreno Valley because everyone's personal medical information is considered private. The worker is undergoing treatment, and several co-workers have been directed to self-quarantine and are under observation by health officials," Guttierez said.

This week officials also announced that Riverside County is just one of eight counties statewide to receive a federal medical station. The supplies from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be used to erect two 125-bed makeshift hospitals that will house non-ICU patients in Indio and western Riverside County while area hospitals treat those sickened by COVID-19.

Local officials hope the effort will help ease the burdens on hospitals, which are already seeing an increased patient load due to the illness. READ MORE: Makeshift Hospitals Opening In Riverside County Amid Coronavirus