No ‘community spread’ of coronavirus in Fresno so far. Here’s when that could change
Fresno County so far has not confirmed a coronavirus case spread by community transmission.
The Public Health Department announced three new positive cases on Friday, bringing the total to six. Five of them were travel-related. No one has been hospitalized locally or died from COVID-19.
One of the new cases is considered a “person-to-person” transmission. In that case, a senior citizen visited family in the Bay Area, and one of her relatives tested positive for coronavirus. Health officials believe that’s how she got the virus.
When health officials say “community spread,” that means the source of the infection can’t be determined and a patient could’ve contracted the virus from anywhere in the community, said Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer.
The risk of getting COVID-19 from community spread remains low, Vohra said. Once the county confirms 10 cases or more, that risk will grow, and health officials are preparing for that scenario. So far, 200-300 Fresno County residents have been tested.
The best thing residents can do to reduce community spread is stay home, Vohra said.
As the pandemic grows and affects residents’ day-to-day lives, health officials stressed the county will continue to provide services to the best of its ability, including behavioral health services and social services. They acknowledged growing anxiety in the community about the virus and frustrations with testing.
“Really the best thing you can do is try to recover from this at home,” Vohra said. “We know from really good scientific data that 80% of people that come down with COVID are going to be just fine in a couple of days. They’re going to recover after a lot of water, a lot of hydration, chicken soup, and couch time.”
Getting tested is not the most important message health officials have for the community, he said. Spacing is. People who believe they have symptoms should self quarantine, isolate and practice social distancing as much as possible.
Fresno County residents should expect changes with their primary care doctors, urgent care facilities and other clinical settings, health officials said. They urged patients to handle as many of their medical needs as possible over the phone or online to prevent spreading the coronavirus germ and reduce the risk to first responders.
To deal with the pandemic, many retired health care workers are returning to work, or people set to retire are choosing to continue to work, health officials said.
“Everyone’s on the same team,” Vohra said.
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 5:24 PM.