Coronavirus updates: Newsom, Bitwise unveil online resource; Frustrations over testing in Fresno

Fresno-based Bitwise Industries and its software-development arm, Shift3 Technologies, are collaborating with Oakland technology nonprofit Kapor Center and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office to develop OnwardCA.org, a website that aims to serve as a one-stop repository of information and resources for workers displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The website was unveiled during the governor’s daily news conference Thursday.

About 200 people from Bitwise and Shift3 are involved not only in the development of the website, but also collecting information from public agencies and organizations across the state and entering that into computer systems to build the resource database for users.

The website can be found at onwardca.org.

Convention Center possible field hospital site

Fresno County has picked the Fresno Convention Center as the new site for the emergency coronavirus field hospital. If the state approves, the facility will be up and running next week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun its evaluations and should be done by Friday.

The site will house 150 patient beds.

The county initially picked the Fresno Fairgrounds to house the emergency medical unit, but the Army Corps of Engineers detected asbestos in the walls along with lead paint.

Frustrations mount over coronavirus testing

Fifty-five people shared with The Bee their experiences in accessing COVID-19 tests.

Forty of those people said they exhibited symptoms or believe they were exposed to COVID-19 but couldn’t access a test. For the people who did get tested, many waited more than a week for results. One person’s test was contaminated, and he had to be tested a second time.

Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, said that while long waits for results do happen, they’re rare. But the delays are “a source of constant frustration for us” he said during a Wednesday news briefing.

Most results are returned within three to six days, he said.

“But we do hear about these extraordinary long delay times, which obviously no one is happy about,” Vohra said. “And it’s hard for us to track down every single test delay from the public health perspective. What I will say, however, is that it doesn’t end up changing that much the advice that the medical providers are providing to our patients.”

On April 1, Fresno County’s public health department reported 1,650 people had been tested, a big jump from the previously reported number in the 300s.

Fresno businesses donate $500K to help fund nonprofits

Five Fresno businesses have donated into a $500,000 matching fund to help local nonprofits hurt by the coronavirus, Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer said on Thursday.

Money donated to www.givehelpnow.org between April 2 and 30 will be matched by the half-million-dollar fund set up by the anonymous donors, Dyer said Thursday during a news conference at the Central California Food Bank warehouse

“Not only have the demands for their service increased dramatically, but their ability to raise funds have been severely hindered as a result of the restrictions placed on them due to the COVID-19 outbreak.,” he said.

This follows an announcement from the Central Valley Community Foundation, which said more than $500,000 had been raised through its COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. That money will fund the first 12 grants that will be given to central San Joaquin Valley nonprofits responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Native American clinics sending staff home

Health care clinics serving Native Americans in the Fresno-area are grappling with the same testing and supply shortages as other hospitals, but they’re also sending many of their staff, including medical personnel, home.

That includes staffers 65 and older as well as those with underlying conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to severe complications from the coronavirus.

Central Valley Indian Health, Inc. has clinics that serve more than 55,000 Native American patients in Fresno, Madera and Kings counties on an annual basis. It has asked 20% of its 130 staff across all clinics to stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19,according to its CEO Charles D. Fowler.

So far, the CVIH clinics have tested eight patients for coronavirus and all were negative, Fowler said.

The Bee hosts online forum Thursday

Fresno-area elected leaders and educators will talk about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and what 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 Clovis Unified School District Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell.

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

Area numbers continue to swell

The forum comes less than a month after the coronavirus outbreak began in the area and as the total number of coronavirus cases across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties climbs to nearly 200.

Three people have died.

As of Thursday morning the total stood at 198, following the announcement of 15 new cases in Tulare County. That number includes several more residents at Visalia’s Redwood Springs Healthcare Center.

Homeless patient tests positive for coronavirus in Fresno

The health department in Fresno reported a total of 82 cases of the coronavirus in Fresno on Wednesday, including the first confirmed infection within the homeless community.

A small number of other unhoused individuals have tested negative and 10 more await results, according to Sonia de la Rosa, who runs the county’s homelessness efforts.

The county has been working to open up additional beds for homeless populations and had previously outlined plans to isolate in hotel rooms homeless residents who are awaiting test results or showing symptoms of the COVID-19 virus. The county is working to secure another hotel with 20 to 25 available units, and Fresno has received 28 of 1,305 state trailers to quarantine individuals awaiting test results.

The patient was quarantined in a hotel, though officials declined to identify particulars, alongside others awaiting test results. The case was not severe enough to require hospitalization,

Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County interim health officer, said homeless encampments “are at an increased risk of having epidemics or clusters of cases come out,” and that the health department deployed personal protective equipment and hand sanitizers to people experiencing homelessness as well as their outreach teams. They have also purchased and set up 52 hand-washing stations around Fresno and Madera.

Shake Lake, Sequoia National Forest close

Shaver Lake in the Sierra National Forest will be closed to boating by this weekend, the latest area lake to be impacted by the spread of COVID-19.

Southern California Edison, which manages Shaver Lake, is installing a new gate at the north end of the boat ramp and parking lot at Sierra Marina, according to local fishing guide Dick Nichols. The boat ramp at Camp Edison is already closed.

Shaver Lake joins Millerton Lake and San Luis Reservoir in closing its launch ramps and parking lots. All the lakes operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento Region (Pine Flat, Kaweah, Success, Eastman and Hensley) are closed as well.

Bass Lake remains open.

Meanwhile, the Sequoia National Forest announced on Thursday the temporary closure of developed recreation sites until April 30 due to coronavirus.

Closures include campsites and recreational opportunities offered by California Land Management and the Giant Sequoia National Monument Association, cabin rentals, day-use areas, restrooms and other facilities. Refunds for reservations made during the closure period will be issued.

The Sierra National Forest announced similar closures last week.

CSU Summer Arts suspends 2020 season

The CSU Summer Arts program announced on Thursday, the suspension of its 2020 season due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 situation.

“We will miss our wonderful students, faculty and artists more than you can imagine,” said Joanne Sharp, assistant director for CSU Summer Arts in a news release. “Seeing the summer program come to life is our reason for doing everything we do all year. Our only consolation is the hope that everyone remains safe as we look forward to next summer.”

More than 400 students were expected to participate in the program, which had classes scheduled from June 29 to Aug. 17 at Fresno State. The Summer Arts festival was scheduled from June 29 to July 5. This would have been Fresno State’s fourth consecutive year (and 17th year overall) of hosting the festival.

Fresno Art Museum offers digital exhibition, art projects for kids

While the Fresno Art Museum is closed, it is offering remote viewing of “GIFTED: Collecting the Art of California at Gardena High School, 1919 to 1956.”

Text and digital images of the exhibit, which features 70 paintings by early California artists that were purchased by the graduating classes at Gardena High School and gifted to the student body, are available on the museum’s website under the hashtag, museumsfromhome.

New images will added over the coming weeks.

The website also has links to online resources children can use to create art at home. That includes CREATECA, an organization of art educators from across California that shares engaging collections and activities with parents.

“Stay tuned” for more detailed demographic info

Statistical information on positive cases continues to be released by health departments on a daily basis. But many residents are left wondering why the information can’t be more specific — why, for instance, are numbers being released on a countywide basis, and not city by city?

The answer is that there aren’t enough cases. Yet.

The past two weeks, the Fresno County Department of Public Health reported countywide figures, both to the media and city officials. That changed in Wednesday’s update, which indicated 66 of the county’s 82 positive cases were in the Fresno/Clovis metro area. Other cities and unincorporated areas accounted for the other 16.

More detailed breakdowns, by city or even ZIP code, will come when patient privacy rights can be assured and the total number of cases reaches the point where the data is reliable, health officials said.

Prison employee tests positive

For the second time in as many weeks, an employee at a prison facility in the central San Joaquin Valley has test positive for the coronavirus, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

An employee at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla has tested positive, the department reported on its website on Wednesday. An employee at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran tested positive last week.

In total, the department said 27 employees have a confirmed case of the coronavirus. The website does not list how many inmates, if any, have been infected.

Area schools districts extend closures

Heeding a letter from State Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond to pivot to online and distance learning for the remainder of the academic year, Fresno-area school districts have extended the closure of their campuses.

The Fresno Unified School Board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to close district campuses — where some 74,000 students attend class — for the rest of the school year.

Clovis Unified is aiming to reopen classes to its roughly 40,000 students May 4, but acknowledged that would be unlikely.

“There’s a possibility God may hear the prayers of our students and our faculty and our nation. And there may be a healing come about,” said Trustee Steven Fogg. But the district soon “may have to make a different decision,” he added.

Central, Madera, Visalia, Selma, and Washington Unified school districts all extended their closures until at least May 4. Officials from the Merced City School District and Merced Union High officials also confirmed their campuses would remain closed for the rest of the school year.

Free food is a good thing

As restaurants struggle to redefine themselves amid state and local stay-at-home orders, many have taken to offering free meals and special promotions — to healthcare workers and kids, or in cases to the general public.

Who couldn’t use a free giant cinnamon roll from The Train Depot restaurant right about now?

Here is a list of some of what’s happening around the Fresno area.

Share your videos

The Fresno Bee is looking to put together living time capsule of life in the central San Joaquin Valley during this extraordinary “shelter in place” moment. It needs you’re help. Get out your cellphones and cameras and shoot video of your life. The Bee will share its viewers.

Here’s how you can get involved.

This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Newsom, Bitwise unveil online resource; Frustrations over testing in Fresno."