Coronavirus updates: Second death in Tulare County; outbreak at Visalia nursing home

Rep. Devin Nunes in a TV interview on Tuesday called the decision to close California schools for the year “way overkill” and said he wants people to return to work over the next “week to two weeks.”

This runs counter to a letter sent to the state’s district superintendents on Tuesday by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. In it, Thurmond encouraged educators to pivot quickly to online learning as it “currently appears that our students will not be able to return to school campuses before the end of the school year.”

“We should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning,” he wrote.

“This is in no way to suggest that school is over for the year,” Thurmond continued. “But rather, we should put all efforts into strengthening our delivery of education through distance learning.”

The California Department of Education has provided guidance and resources on distance learning and will provide webinars and training, and help make technology accessible for families.

The letter was not a mandate and school districts can still make the decision to reopen.

Fresno Unified is currently slated to reopen on April 16, following what would have been the district’s scheduled spring break.

UC cuts SAT/ACT requirements for 2021

University of California’s 10 campuses will ease admission requirements for incoming freshman and transfer students affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The UC system announced Wednesday it was removing SAT requirements and accepting pass/no pass grading.

The University of California called the changes short-term critical measures that will apply to future students as long as needed.

The shift comes as high school students face school closures due to COVID-19 that have made it challenging to meet university requirements, such as standardized testing and college entrance exams.

“We want to help alleviate the tremendous disruption and anxiety that is already overwhelming prospective students due to COVID-19,” said John A. Pérez, chair of the Board of Regents, the governing board for UC.

Online education isn’t working, students, teachers say

In the three weeks since schools across the nation shut down, some students, teachers and parents interviewed by The Bee have found that online education isn’t working.

Some districts are making schoolwork mandatory and others aren’t. How students will earn credit for their work remains a mystery. Most school districts in Fresno County have online resources for students and work packets parents can pick up, but those plans rely on students having consistent web access, or a ride to pick up their packets — and many families have neither.

And there’s no top-down plan to make it work. The U.S. Department of Education has provided resources for schools on distance learning but otherwise has told local districts to figure it out for themselves. Without a cohesive set of standards or even tools for students, teachers and administrators have cobbled together piecemeal lessons that frequently fail to reach many — and sometimes most — of their students.

Fresno is far from alone in its struggles. On Monday, Los Angeles schools reported 15,000 students have never logged into their online curriculum and 120,000 high school students haven’t logged in regularly, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Visalia nursing home at center of coronavirus outbreak

Six patients and two health care professionals at Redwood Springs Healthcare Center in Visalia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The 176-bed skilled nursing facility made the announcement in a news release Wednesday. The staff members experienced an onset of coronavirus symptoms while caring for two patients in one room, according to the release. All eight people are now isolated from the other residents and staff and the center is working in close coordination with county health officials to test and monitor everyone else in the facility.

Second death in Tulare County

A second person in Tulare County died on Tuesday after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Tulare County Health and Human Serviced Agency announced the death Wednesday afternoon. The patient had been exposed via travel.

It marks the third death in central San Joaquin Valley since the epidemic started. The death of 67-year old Jose Sanchez Barriga was reported in Madera County last week. Two days later, Tulare County confirmed its first death.

Fresno numbers continue climb

Fresno County saw its highest daily increase of confirmed coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with health officials announcing 15 new positive tests of COVID-19. This puts the county’s total at 68 active cases as of Wednesday morning. The central San Joaquin Valley now has 150 positive cases. Two people have died.

Mayor closes parks for Easter weekend

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand on Wednesday said all city parks would be closed on Easter weekend, as the city (and state) continues to see a rise in the spread of the coronavirus.

The parks will be closed April 11-12.

Already, the city closed the parking lots connected to Woodward and Roeding parks after seeing large weekend crowds. On Tuesday, the city closed all park playgrounds because they are too difficult to sanitize properly.

Fresno has been on a shelter-in-place order for two weeks. Originally set to end on March 31, a shelter-in-place order extension asks Fresno’s roughly 500,000 residents to stay home and leave only for essential trips through April 12.

The Fresno Bee hosts online coronavirus forum

Fresno-area elected leaders and educators will talk about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic they are doing in response during an online discussion 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The discussion, presented by The Fresno Bee and hosted live on its Facebook page (@fresnobee) will feature Assemblyman Dr. Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno; state Sen. Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno; Fresno State President Joseph Castro; Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith; and Eimear O’Farrell, superintendent of the Clovis Unified School District.

Viewers can submit questions to the panelists as the event unfolds.

Community fund to provide PPEs for healthcare workers

The Central Valley Community Foundation, through its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, is supporting two efforts to provide Personal Protection Equipment to area healthcare workers.

The first effort will produce 2,000 volunteer-made masks. On Thursday, 20 volunteers will receive training and a kit to make the masks with materials donated by Kiki’s Quilt Shack. HandsOnCentral California will deliver additional kits to volunteers 55-years old and older who cannot leave their homes. Others kits can be picked up at Kiki’s Quilt Shack, to take home to sew and return later.

Kiki’s Quilt Shack created their own pattern and are donating supplies for the 2,000 masks.

Additionally, the foundation directly purchased 30,000 masks that will be donated and delivered to local health clinics early next week. It is also funding the production of up to 500 face shields for emergency room workers, through a local engineering firm the Pi Shop.

This is part of a larger effort to help frontline workers and local nonprofits impacted by the coronavirus crisis. On Tuesday, the foundation announced more than $500,000 had been raised for the first 12 grants that will be given Central Valley nonprofits responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. These non-competitive grants are focused on three critical areas: food security, support for healthcare workers, and coordinated communications strategies.

CARES Act brings new funds to help the Valley

Central Valley Communities will receive $200 million in funding to make telehealth more accessible, according to Rep. TJ Cox, writing in The Fresno Bee.

It’s something he’s “personally been pushing for since my first day in Congress. No one should have to drive up to an hour away to obtain care if they can get quality health care in the comfort of their own home,” he wrote.

The funds are part of the CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion relief package passed by Congress last week.

While the bill does provide critical emergency response, it is not without significant shortcomings, Cox wrotes. This bill denies benefits to mixed status (citizen/non-citizen households), fails to protect farm workers and doesn’t raise dangerously low Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) benefits.

“I know we still have more work to do, and I will be working for you every day as Congress crafts the next package.”

Governor says nursing students can help during crisis

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has cleared the way for thousands of nursing students to join the fight against the coronavirus. That is welcomed news in the central San Joaquin Valley, where a shortage of health professionals and a population particularly vulnerable to severe complications from COVID-19.

But many students say the move leaves questions. Like, whether they will receive course credit to graduate while they beef up staffing levels at hospitals and clinics. As of now, students still have to complete 75% of their clinical training in-person.

Alicia Lozano, director of the nursing program at Fresno City College, said the governor “opened the door for us, and we have started to pursue possible avenues with our hospital partners.”

Doctors shortage will cost Fresno emergency hospital beds

Fresno’s long-standing doctor shortage is costing the county 100 of 250 emergency hospital beds it was slated to receive to help treat coronavirus patients.

The 250 beds will delivered to the county once state officials green light a newly proposed field hospital location on Wednesday. The county’s first choice of location — the Fresno Fairgrounds — was rejected by the state due to concerns over asbestos and lead paint. State officials are inspecting the new site on Wednesday.

The beds Fresno gives up will remain in the region to serve the seven-county central San Joaquin Valley. The county has proposed giving 50 of those to a northern county and another 50 to a southern county, according to EMS coordinator Dan Lynch.

“You can have all the beds and patient equipment, but we need staff,” Lynch said.

Kings County may charge residents who break stay-at-home orders

On Tuesday, Kings County adopted a shelter-in-place order, piggybacking on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state-wide stay at home order. Those who ignore the order could face misdemeanor charges.

That enforcement option could be considered during a Kings County Board of Supervisors meeting next week, warned Kings County Supervisor Richard Valle in a stern video Tuesday. The charges would be targeted at those continuing to have large gatherings, including birthday parties with children playing together in bounce houses.

“It doesn’t mean you’re going to get pulled over because you’re out walking the dog,” Valle said.

“Exercise is still encouraged.”

NCAA gives eligibility relief to student-athletes

The NCAA Division I Council voted to give student-athletes in spring sports an additional year of eligibility after their seasons and championship events were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It also gave schools the flexibility to deal with how (or if) they’ll pay for scholarships and whether to expand rosters.

This may not be easy for schools like Fresno State, which supports 21 sports programs on a tight budget.

“The decision was made for the benefit of the student-athlete, which is always going to be something that we appreciate and support, however, we always have to understand the impact that this may have on us as an institution and the financial constraints that go along with it,” Fresno State athletics director Terry Tumey said.

“We’re happy about the situation, but there are a lot of other pieces in play to understand how Fresno State would participate.”

Events still being canceled or re-rescheduled

Event promoters are continuing the deal with effects of the coronavirus, with events being canceled through May and into June. The Bass Lake Fishing Derby has been canceled for the year. The 37-year old event typically marks the unofficial start of the summer season at the lake.

Michael Bublé postponed several more dates on his “An Evening With Michael Buble’ Tour,” including his May 3 date at Fresno’s Save Mart Center Arena. Rescheduled dates for the entire tour will be announced as soon as possible. Tickets will be honored on the new date.

“The safety of my fans and my touring family is more important than anything and of course takes priority. I ray that everyone remains safe and I look forward to seeing you back on the road for a great night out once we are advised that our shows can continue. Stay well everyone,” Bublé said.

Some already rescheduled events are being further postponed.

Nickelodeon star and YouTube personality JoJo Siwa pushed her March 24 concert at the Save Mart Center to June 13. The concerts has now been postponed to a future — yet-to-be-announced — date. Tickets will be honored.

On Tuesday, Top Rank said it was postponing WBC/WBO super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez’s title defense against Viktor Postol for a second time. The fight had been moved from Feb. 1 to May 9. A new fight date has not been set.

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 10:10 AM.