Coronavirus updates: Tulare County tops 100 deaths; positive test closes TulareWORKs office

More than 100 people have now died in Tulare County as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

County health officials reported an additional eight deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 106. That number is more than half of the total deaths in the central San Joaquin Valley and more than the other five counties in the region combined.

Also on Wednesday, Tulare County’s Human Services Branch confirmed a public employee had tested positive for the virus.

An employee of the Visalia TulareWORKs District Office at 1845 N. Dinuba Blvd. began to show symptoms and notified a supervisor. The location is now closed for cleaning and the county is notifying employees with whom the person may have had contact.

That number is limited, according to the Health Human Services Agency, which had begun to limit the number of employees working at each of its sites in March. The office has been closed to the public since March 23.

“It is not unexpected that employees may become ill as COVID-19 continues spreading throughout the community. The HHSA has protocols in place to address this and similar situations involving employees who become ill,” the department said in a news release.

With the Visalia District Office expected to be temporarily closed, those needing services from the Visalia district office can contact the call center at 800-540-6880.

Regional death toll nears 200

The national death toll from the coronavirus could surpass 200,000 by Oct. 1, according to an influential University of Washington model used by the White House.

Daily coronavirus deaths in the United States are expected to decline through August before surging again in the fall, the model forecasts. Florida, Arizona and California will see increases in projected deaths, according to reports.

The number of coronavirus deaths in the central San Joaquin Valley continues to rise daily.

Across the six-county region, 50 people have died in the first weeks of June, including five reported Monday in Fresno and Kings counties combined and four reported Tuesday (two in Fresno County and one each in Kings and Madera counties).

In all, 184 people have died from illness related to coronavirus across the six counties.

More than 3,000 cases added since May

The number of total positive cases of the coronavirus has reached more than 8,200 and is increasing at an average of 188.9 cases a day.

More than 3,000 were reported since the end of May alone.

On Tuesday, the Valley reported 363 new infections, with large increases in all but one of the six counties. Fresno and Merced counties added more than 80 new cases apiece and Tulare County added 134. Kings County added 39 new cases. Madera County saw its largest single-day increase with 24 cases.

Only Mariposa County reported no new cases.

Of the total cases in the region, 4,100 are considered active. An almost equal number of people have recovered from the virus.

Fresno County still behind in testing

As the count rises, Fresno County continues to fall short of the state’s recommended testing standards.

With a population of just over 1 million, the county needs to test 1,500 people each day to meet California’s guidelines of 150 tests per 100,000 residents. State health officials estimate that testing is currently running at about 650 per day in Fresno County, though the county’s interim health officer puts the number closer to 1,000 per day.

The county is working to raise those numbers and says that everyone should get tested, whether they have symptoms or not.

Kingsburg City Band webcasts start Thursday

Last month, the Kingsburg City Band canceled its annual summer concert series for the first time since 1943.

This would have been the 134th season for the band.

In its place, the band is offering a series of webcast performances that were recorded live last year. The first will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and features soloist Joe Lizama in five separate numbers. Lizama has been a drummer for singer Johnny Mathis for 39 years.

Conductor Dale Engstrom and band announcer Randy McFarland will begin the webcast with a few welcoming remarks on the program.

Subsequent performances will stream online each Thursday through July 23 at www.kingsburgband.com.

This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 8:24 AM.