Nine more people died in Riverside County of the novel coronavirus, health officials said Monday, April 13, making it the largest one-day leap in deaths and bringing the number of dead to 50.

There are now 1,751 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the county, an increase of 132 from the day before, the latest numbers show. The number of county deaths attributed to COVID-19 rose from 41 on Sunday.

County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the surge of nine deaths is the worst since the pandemic began. She said three people died between Sunday and Monday, while the other six deaths occurred last week but were only recently confirmed to be the result of COVID-19.

As of Sunday, April 12, the county had 1,619 cases following the biggest single-day jump in cases, or 188, Federico said.

By Tuesday, April 14, Riverside County hospitals had anticipated running out of beds in vital intensive care units, based on an earlier forecast. But on Monday, Federico said hospitals had not yet reached capacity in large part because stay-at-home efforts are slowing the virus’ spread, hospitals have made more room for patients and “field hospitals” have been set up at the former Sears store in Riverside and the county fairgrounds in Indio.

But, Federico said, “We’re certainly not out of the woods.”

The coronavirus case total in the county has almost tripled since the county reported 665 cases April 4.

On that day, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, issued an order for Riverside County residents to cover their noses and mouths when they leave home. The county also barred public and private gatherings of any kind through April 30, though it made an exception for drive-up outdoor religious services over Easter weekend.

People are urged to wash their hands, to leave home only for essential reasons and to stay at least 6 feet from other people. And they are asked to cover their noses and mouths in public.

A total of 297 people have recovered from the virus, according to the county public health website. Recovered means that someone has completed isolation, is no longer showing symptoms and has had his or her case closed by public health officials.

CASES BY COMMUNITY

The number of cases and deaths reported in individual communities are: