Fresno health officials address reopening plans, another COVID-19 nursing home death
Fresno County health officials on Monday addressed statewide plans to reopen some businesses, along with announcing the county’s ninth coronavirus death, an 89-year-old man and nursing home resident.
In addition, people can now register for a COVID-19 test at a new testing site location opened this week at Fresno City College by going to lhi.care/covidtesting.
Coronavirus cases grew by 39 in Fresno County since Saturday (672 total), as cases continue to grow throughout the central San Joaquin Valley.
Reopening businesses
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced that some businesses will be allowed to reopen by the end of the week.
The statewide shelter-in-place order remains in effect, as does Fresno’s extended order through May 31, which also allows for some businesses to reopen before the end of the month.
Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said the county still has a “lot of homework to do” about how to safely reopen businesses and what will be allowed by the state.
Vohra said businesses at a low risk of spreading coronavirus are being considered for reopening. That could include allowing curbside pickups for some in retail, Vohra said, and restarting some manufacturing businesses.
More detailed guidance about safely reopening businesses will be posted on the health department’s website.
Vohra said he hopes these reopenings won’t result in coronavirus cases going up at a much faster rate than before, but that hospitals have done a lot of planning to expand their capacities and supplies of personal protective equipment.
He said COVID-19 testing and contract tracing – investigating cases and contacting people who may have been exposed – still need to increase in Fresno County. The health department is working to get more hospitals to submit their daily test numbers. The health department is aware of 7,896 COVID-19 tests conducted in Fresno County so far. Vohra said there needs to be between 1,000 and 2,000 tests conducted a day countywide for the area’s population size.
Second Fresno County nursing home resident dies
Fresno County’s last two coronavirus deaths were nursing home residents.
The eighth death was announced Friday, an 86-year-old woman.
Vohra said these individuals died in hospitals and did not share what nursing homes they had lived in. None of the county’s previous seven COVID-19 deaths were nursing home residents, but some were also elderly, Vohra said Monday.
Coronavirus cases in skilled nursing facilities have continued to grow throughout the central San Joaquin Valley, including at one Dycora facility in downtown Fresno.
Vohra said his office continues to work diligently with facilities to prevent further spread, and that there are increased preventative measures at facilities with positive cases, along with more COVID-19 tests being conducted.
Coronavirus testing
The new testing facility at Fresno City College will be operated by OptumServe, which will be able to do up to 132 tests a day.
Health officials said the new testing site is one of more than 80 new sites across the state focused on underserved communities. OptumServe was described as the federal government health services business of Optum, a leading health services innovation company.
Vohra said a doctor’s referral is not needed for those who do not have a primary care physician. People interested in registering will be asked a number of questions online to determine their priority. For those unable to access the online registration site, people can also call the health department.
In addition, Vohra announced that Ford has provided 5,000 high-quality plastic face shields that will be distributed to health workers throughout the community. Those interested in a face shield can contact the county or Fresno Madera Medical Society.
The county is also continuing rural testing, with Mendota the focus this week – on Wednesday and Friday. More information will be posted on the county’s website. Officials are working on compiling a list of test sites across the county.
Vohra also stressed that there continues to be resources (and a number of hotlines to get help) for those suffering from three major illnesses: opioid addiction, tobacco and vaping dependency, and those with depression and suicidal thoughts.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 6:36 PM.
