Coronavirus updates: Mariposa County confirms its first case; 50 new cases in Tulare County
On Monday, the central San Joaquin Valley saw its largest daily increase of reported cases of the coronavirus, with 80 new cases across the six-county region.
On Tuesday, Tulare County reported a one-day increase of 50 positive cases and three related deaths.
Tulare County Health and Human Service agency confirmed the new cases in its daily online update. The total number of cases in the county now stands at 578. Another 614 people are under self-quarantine and being monitored by health officials.
Tuesday’s report brings the total number of people who have died to 35.
Tulare County continues to see the most positive cases in the central San Joaquin Valley, which now has a total of 1,308 cases. It also has the vast majority of the region’s 48 deaths. It now has five time more deaths than neighboring Fresno County, which reported 40 new cases of coronavirus in its Monday update, which included cases confirmed over the weekend.
Mariposa County confirms first case
Mariposa County Health and Human Services Public Health Branch reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old woman is isolating at home, according to a news release. She contracted the virus from community transmission in an area outside of Mariposa County. The county’s contact tracing team is currently investigating and more information will be released as details become available.
Health officials said there is no evidence of community transmission inside Mariposa County, but remind residents to follow the state’s stay at home and other social and physical distancing guidelines.
Worker at Sanger processing plant test positive
A worker at a Pitman Family Farms processing facility has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter sent to employees last week.
The individual worked in a small processing area insides the company’s facility in Sanger. That area has been washed and sanitized multiple times since the worker was last on site. The company also notified any individuals who may have close contact with the employee, the letter said.
Kaweah Delta Medical Center adds 47 beds, new NICU
Visaia’s Kaweah Delta Medical Center has 47 new beds available in the event of a COVID-19 surge; 23 of those will care for infants.
The hospital opened a new 15,000-square-foot Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This new NICU added eight beds and five times the square-footage with private, single-family rooms.
The opening is possible because of An executive order signed in March by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which allows the California Department of Public Health to suspend the licensing requirements a hospital normally undergoes to open new areas to patients. Kaweah Delta had completed build-out of its fifth and sixth floors and was set to open in spring and the staffing and systems were already in place and met all requirements to get approval from the Office of State Health and Planning and Development last week.
The fifth floor is now available to serve as an intermediate intensive care unit, but will sit empty until it is needed, the hospital said in a release. With the additional beds, Kaweah Delta now has 452 beds available for acute care at its downtown Visalia campus.
Currently, to protect patients, visitors and staff members, Kaweah Delta has a no-visitor policy in place throughout the hospital; however exceptions are made for Labor and Delivery, NICU, and Pediatric patients. Hospital-wide, Kaweah Delta has implemented additional measures to clean and disinfect surfaces to ensure patient, visitor and staff member safety amid concerns of COVID-19.
Not ‘when’ but ‘how’ to reopen Fresno businesses
Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi on Monday pushed to begin reopening non-essential businesses.
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld went a step further on Tuesday, saying the city’s leaders are acting authoritarian and should allow businesses to open immediately amid the coronavirus pandemic, touting a lawsuit filed bu several Los Angeles-based businesses last week. He said businesses should be able to operate while following Centers for Disease Control guidelines, including the use of masks, as well as social distancing and routine cleaning.
The idea was met with a shared sense of impatience from Fresno County’s leading health official. But, interim Health Director Dr. Rais Vohra said there needs to be more testing done in the area to determine whether the coronavirus curve is flattening to a safer level.
“It’s not a simple question of ‘when.’ It’s really the larger, harder question of ‘how,’” Vohra said. “I think that’s going to be a different answer for every sector.”
Some businesses might need to implement new measures like safety barriers for workers and customers and add more hand sanitizers, Vohra said. In some cases, there may need to be a “fundamental change” to how businesses operate.
Pet groomers can reopen in Fresno, Clovis
Pet grooming is now an essential business and will be able top operate in Fresno and Clovis under the state’s shelter-in-place order. Such businesses had been closed in both cities prior to this weekend.
Clovis designated the businesses as essential on Friday.
Fresno mayor Lee Brand announced Fresno’s decision in a news release on Tuesday and said it was made after discussion with the city’s Recovery Committee and a review of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency order.
Brand acknowledged that pet grooming is a form of animal care and can therefore operate as an essential business, effective immediately.
“I’ve been considering this decision and it’s time to start the gradual process of economic recovery,” Brand said. “This announcement will be joined by others in the future, as we move forward in a deliberate and reasonable way to return to normal routines without jeopardizing the health of our residents.”
Pet groomers are reminded that all current health protocols, including employees wearing personal protective equipment and using existing social distancing and disinfecting protocols, are to be followed.
Fresno’s shelter-in-place order remains in place until further notice.
Child custody and the coronavirus
An emergency room nurse in Florida made national headlines after she temporarily lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter because of coronavirus fears.
While it is not known if there have been similar cases in Fresno County, the Superior Court provided needed information for parents sharing custody or parenting time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The big takeaway: Court orders mandating joint custody of a child remain in effect, including children going back and forth between homes, as previously agreed upon.
Pandemic calls state’s road projects into question
California’s ambitious program to speed up highway and transportation projects through a package of gas taxes and vehicles fees passed in 2018 now faces an uncertain future thanks to the cororonavirus outbreak.
Traffic volume on state highways has plunged dramatically in California since Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order last month. As a result, Californians are buying much less gas and paying less tax, even as the slowdown is creating unusually favorable circumstances for road improvement and repair. Less traffic means less disruption, and workers need the work.
Preliminary projections show that nationwide, state transportation revenues are likely to drop 30% over the next 18 months, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
That would mean a nationwide shortfall of $16.7 billion for the rest of the current fiscal year and another $33.3 billion in fiscal 2021.
Senior shoppers surprised with free groceries
Area shoppers were surprised on Tuesday with $50 gift cards, free cases of water and free bags of Peelz mandarins — thanks to the Fresno Grizzlies, Save Mart and other local businesses.
The giveaways took place during the Senior and First Responders Shopping Hours at the Save Mart on First Street and Nees Avenue and were done while practicing social distancing, wearing masks and gloves, in compliance with CDC and Fresno County guidelines.
That included Grizzlies’ mascot Parker, who took photos and share pleasantries with customers.
In all, the event donated more than $6,000 worth of groceries, according to a release from the Grizzlies.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 8:23 AM.