Fresno County with four community-spread cases as number of positive coronavirus tests grows

The Fresno County Department of Public Health confirmed four new cases of coronavirus on Friday, which brings the county’s total to 31 confirmed positive test.

And with results from other tests conducted as far back as two weeks ago still pending, health officials project a continued rise in the number of COVID-19 cases as more lab work gets confirmed.

Test results can take between three to nine days after being administered, said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer.

Fresno County has averaged 1.55 new positive COVID-19 tests per day since its first confirmed case of the coronavirus on March 7.

Health officials are monitoring, in particular, how many COVID-19 cases will have emerged in the county since March 19.

That’s the day the city of Fresno’s shelter-in-place order went into effect, as well as when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide stay-at-home order and closure of “nonessential businesses” to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Are enough individuals following the statewide mandate and practicing social distancing to help “flatten the curve” and avoid a sharp, concentrated uptick in cases that overwhelms the capacity of the health care system?

“We know that as our lab capacity expands, the number of positive (cases) go up but so do the number of negative (test results),” Vohra said. “The number of tests being done is going up and up. ...

“So in terms of the number (of positive tests) going up, that’s really not that surprising to us. We’re going to try to contain as much as we can. But what we’re really asking is the public’s assistance to help with that. All of the social distancing you can do ... will help us keep control of the numbers going forward.”

Community-acquired cases

Perhaps most concerning of Fresno County’s latest figures is the increased number of community-spread cases .

Four of the 31 cases are classified as community spread, which was up one from Thursday’s figures.

That means in four of Fresno County’s confirmed cases, the infected individual was not exposed to the virus via travel and didn’t come in contact with another infected individual who had tested positive. So it’s unclear how they contracted COVID-19.

“Somebody might’ve been in a public place or just passing through an area that an infected person had passed through,” Vohra surmised. “We expect cases in Fresno County and surrounding areas to quickly multiply in the coming weeks, as additional testing is done for those with symptoms of fever and respiratory illness.

“I urge all Fresno County residents to take the simple and common-sense steps that we know will interrupt community transmission of this infection. This is not the time to panic, but it is a time to take urgent and rational action against the threat of widespread infection.”

None of those who’ve tested positive in Fresno County involve someone who’s homeless, Vohra confirmed Friday.

He added that the homeless population remains vulnerable to catching the virus and transmitting it to others.

“We want to make sure,” Vohra said, “that they have the protection and support that they need.”

Kings County tests positive

Also on Friday, Kings County reported its first case of the coronavirus. That means the coronavirus has been confirmed in every county of the central San Joaquin Valley.

Madera was the region’s first county to suffer a coronavirus-related death following Thursday’s passing of a 67-year-old man who also had underlying medical issues.

In all, Madera County has had 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases (its first case has made a recovery), including nine active cases (reported one more positive test Friday). One of its patients is hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Tulare County currently has 24 positive cases. It did announce Thursday that one person had fully recovered.

And just south of the central San Joaquin Valley, Kern County is dealing with 40 cases and its first coronavirus-related death after a 48-year-old woman from Delano passed away.

This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 1:55 PM.