Still climbing: COVID-19 cases top 5,000 in Fresno County, 13,000 in Valley
Almost 200 new confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday in Fresno County, pushing the county over the 5,000-case mark and launching the central San Joaquin Valley to more than 13,000 since the first COVID-19 cases were reported less than four months ago.
Fresno County’s Department of Public Health said test results came back positive for 197 people since Monday. One more person died from complications of the respiratory disease caused by the virus.
A total of 5,008 residents have tested positive for the disease in Fresno County since March 6, including 73 who have died. More than 3,100 of those confirmed infections, and 38 of the fatalities, have been reported since June 1.
Across the Valley, including neighboring Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, updates included reports of 623 new cases Tuesday, including two deaths in Tulare County. Those break down to:
Kings County: The county reported 23 new cases Tuesday evening, for a total of 2,417 to date; one new death, bringing the county to 30 total. Those cases include 1,139 associated with Avenal State Prison in Avenal and two other state prisons in Corcoran. The county has had almost 1,500 people recover from the virus, but still has 895 active cases.
Madera County: 31 new cases on Tuesday, 519 total to date; no new deaths, five to date; 304 active cases, 210 recovered.
Mariposa County: Two new cases on Tuesday, 27 total to date; no new deaths, one to date; 9 active cases, 17 recovered.
Merced County: 86 new cases on Tuesday, 1,064 total to date; no new deaths, 11 to date. The county did not specify its current number of active and recovered cases on Tuesday.
Tulare County: 284 new cases on Tuesday, 4,156 to date; two new deaths, 126 to date; 1,024 active cases, 3,006 recovered.
The increases reported on the last day of June underscored the continued spread of the virus in the Valley despite pleas from health officers across the six counties for people to practice social distancing of six feet when out in public, and to wear cloth face coverings when visiting stores, restaurants and other businesses to avoid spreading the virus.
Over March, April and May — the first three months of the pandemic in the Valley — a total of 5,341 confirmed infections were reported in the region. In June alone, 7,826 people tested positive for the virus.
June has also proven to be the deadliest month of the pandemic so far in the Valley, with 112 deaths blamed on COVID-19. That compares with 81 in May, 51 in April, and two in March.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 5:09 PM.
