Coronavirus updates: Expecting mothers fear hospitals; Popular restaurant looks to reopen date

Two more people have died in Tulare County after testing positive for the coronavirus. They were the 16th and 17th coronavirus-related deaths in the county in less than a month.

The Tulare County Health and Human Services agency confirmed the deaths in an online update Thursday. The agency also updated the total number of positive coronavirus cases in the county to 272, an increase of 20 cases from the day prior. The county has added more than 100 new cases this week alone.

In an update late Wednesday afternoon, Fresno County health official put the county’s current number cases at 265, a jump of 14 from the day prior. This is as the county continues to struggle to get enough tests. Ultimately health officials would like to see testing for COVID-19, the coronavirus, available in every neighborhood, according to the county’s interim health officer, Dr. Rais Vohra.

Ramping up that sort of testing capacity will also help prevent or identify outbreaks. But, it will take time to get there.

“So it means that we have more work to do in terms of social distancing, in terms of preventing the next person getting infected,” he said.

Health investigators tracking auto theft suspect

At least four law-enforcement personnel are in quarantine after contact with a suspected auto thief who tested positive. The man was processed and released from the Fresno County Jail, and the county Department of Public Health has assigned an investigator to track him down, according to sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti.

The 18-year old has not been identified because of concerns over federal HIPAA regulations, but the investigator has been in contact with the man’s family, Botti said.

Community Regional predicts, plans for surge of patients

While its current patient volume is below normal as a result of a statewide mandate to halt elective medical procedures, Community Medical Centers’ health system is preparing for a predicted surge of patients from as far away as the Bay Area.

In the past month, the hopsitals have responded to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to increase capacity with a plan to expand Community’s ICU beds by 100% and lower-acuity beds by 50%, found new ways to conserve and re-process personal protective equipment (PPE) while amassing a labor pool of hundreds of health-care workers ready to care for an influx of patients and expanded work-at-home capabilities for more than 1,000 non-clinical employees.

Popular restaurants looks to reopen in early May

The owner of Pismo’s Coastal Grill restaurant in Fresno made a splash on social media this week with a video announcing it will take “baby steps” to reopen in early May — the day after the city of Fresno’s shelter-in-place order is scheduled to end.

Restaurateur Dave Fansler outlined a plan and said the restaurant would open with precautions, like operating at 40% capacity and taking only reservations – no walk-ins – to avoid people congregating in the waiting area.

The May 6 date could of course be extended by the city and is comolicated by a statewide shelter-in-place order, with specific instructions that restaurants do only take-out food. It has no end date.

Fansler said of course he won’t reopen if it’s still illegal for him to do so.

“I’m not going to break the law, or ask my employees to.”

Expecting mothers fear giving birth during the pandemic

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit Fresno County, some local hospitals have been hearing from expecting mothers who are afraid of visiting hospitals as COVID-19 cases mount.

Fears of infections and of delivering without their partners in the room have grown after news surfaced that nearly a dozen nurses at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center contracted the virus, most while on the job.

Mothers also worry about shortages of beds and medical staff, according to Shantay Davies-Balch, president and chief executive officer for the Black Wellness and Prosperity Center. Davies-Balch’s organization was one of several groups that recently added their names to a letter to Gov. Newsom, detailing their concerns over the pandemic’s effect on maternity ward resources.

“Women were really just starting to feel fearful of having their babies in the hospital,” Davies-Balch said.

Meanwhile, doctors and nurses are taking precautions to protect expecting mothers.

Officials from three local medical groups – Kaiser Permanente, Saint Agnes Medical Center and Community Regional Medical Center – told The Bee they’re strictly following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, medical experts and health departments.

Local hospitals don’t anticipate a shortage of maternity ward beds, according to Dr. Nancy Goler, an OB-GYN and associate executive director at The Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.

“We understand this is a stressful time for expecting mothers who may have questions about their care,” she said.

Ruiz Foods donates to Central California Food Bank

Dinuba food maker Ruiz Foods is providing more than 165,000 El Monterey burritos to the Central California Food Bank. Pickup of the burritos started on Wednesday and will continue on Friday.

“Many communities are under a tremendous amount of stress due to this pandemic,” said Kim Ruiz Beck, company chairwoman. “Food banks are an important resource during this time. Speaking for the entire Ruiz family, we have always felt it important to help the communities where we live and work ... particularly in times of difficulty ... and we want to do what we can to help eliminate hunger as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The donation is one of several. The Ruiz family is partnering with food banks in other communities throughout the United States. In all, the company is donating more than 300,000 servings of the burritos.

Foster Farms ups food donations in California

Last week, Foster Farms announced a donation of 2 million servings of protein to food banks and community organizations on the West Coast and in Louisiana and Alabama.

On Thursday, the company announced it will donate an additional 400,000 servings of poultry to community hunger relief organizations throughout California. Locally, the new donations will benefit the Visalia Rescue Mission and Kings Gospel Mission in Hanford.

The Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, Second Harvest in Manteca, Merced Food Bank, Fresno Rescue Mission and Central California Food Bank in Fresno have already received donations.

“The economic effects of COVID-19 have been devastating to communities,” said Foster Farms vice president of communications Ira Brill. “As an ‘essential’ company, we are working hard to keep food on retail shelves but also to continue to support organizations in our communities doing important work to address hunger during these unprecedented times.”

$100,000 donation helps Kings County families

The Kings Community Action Organization received a $100,000 donation that will help provide services to individuals and families in the county who have been impacted by COVID-19. The donation, made by Edison International, the parent company of power provider Southern California Edison, will support the organization in providing critical services like food, shelter/housing and child care.

“Edison International was the first business to reach out to us as we began our COVID-19 response plan to help families in need,” KCAO executive director Jeff Garner said in a news release. “This level of support does not happen often and to receive this donation in this important period of time is incredible. “

KCAO is the anti-poverty agency for Kings County with service sites in Armona, Avenal, Corcoran, Hanford, Home Garden, Kettleman City, Lemoore, and Stratford.

This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 10:03 AM.