Coronavirus updates: Fresno briefly tops region for most cases; nursing home outbreaks
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said the state’s key measures of coronavirus impact show the state has stabilized, with the percentage of positive cases in sharp decline and now holding steady at around 4.5% – even as the overall number of cases is on the rise.
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions also have held roughly flat over the past two-week period, Newsom said.
That said, some counties are bucking those statewide averages and are being closely monitored by the state. That includes three of the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties have failed to meet at least three state benchmarks for reopening for three days in a row.
Fresno County tops the region in cases
Over the past two weeks, the reported number of new coronavirus cases has increased by an average of 175 cases daily across the central San Joaquin Valley.
Not surprisingly, the largest increases have been in Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties.
Fresno County added 159 infections and three deaths in its update Monday, surpassing Tulare County for the most positive cases in the Valley, with 2,706.
That was until Tuesday morning, when Tulare County reported 134 new cases, bringing its total count to nearly 2,798.
Kings County added 26 new cases and two deaths on Monday. It now counts 1,831 total cases.
In all, more than 8,000 cases have been reported across the six counties.
While Tulare County reported no new deaths on Tuesday, the county still counts the bulk of the region’s 172 coronavirus-related deaths.
Ninety-eight people have died so far in Tulare County. Fresno County has had 55 deaths. Kings County has eight, including the two reported on Monday. Merced County has had seven deaths; Madera County, three; Mariposa County just one.
Nursing homes outbreaks in Fresno, Visalia deadliest in state
Some of the state’s deadliest outbreak clusters have been at nursing homes in Fresno and Visalia.
Dycora Transitional Health and Living-Fresno and Redwood Springs Healthcare Center in Visalia each have 29 coronavirus patient deaths, according to state data. That is the most COVID-19 patient deaths reported at any skilled nursing facility in California. The facilities also report a similar number of total COVID-19 patient cases: 116 and 121, respectively. Dycora is linked to the death of at least one health care worker – the first at a skilled nursing facility in the central San Joaquin Valley.
Fresno County now has 18 nursing homes where coronavirus has been reported. Tulare County has 15.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 8:08 AM.