Coronavirus updates: Fresno, Clovis cases by ZIP code; A second death in Mariposa County

California now leads the nation in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. As of last Wednesday, the state was adding as many as 9,000 new cases each day — a number that was between 1,500 and 2,000 a day just last month.

The central San Joaquin Valley is emerging as a hot spot for the coronavirus in California.

It broke the 30,000-case mark on Monday, with increases of 300-plus cases in both Fresno and Tulare counties.

Prior to the weekend, the six-county region had been averaging nearly 640 new cases daily. Fresno County, which leads the region in both total and active cases, added more than 300 positive cases each day last week and had 13,209 cases as of Sunday, according to California Department of Public Health.

More than half of the region’s cases are considered active. Nearly 13,000 people have recovered from the virus.

Three-hundred and seventy-nine people have died of related illness, including eight people reported in Fresno County’s update on Friday, one in Mariposa County and four in Tulare County on Monday.

Tulare County continues to report the largest number of deaths in the region. It has confirmed 172 people have died of the coronavirus since March. Fresno County has reported 112 deaths. Mariposa County, which has had the least number of positive cases in the region (46) now has two deaths.

Fresno’s north-south divide; coronavirus cases by ZIP code

Analyzing the number of coronavirus cases in Fresno and Clovis, one sees a divide.

Areas in the southern part of Fresno not only have more confirmed infections of COVID-19 over the past few months of the pandemic, they also have a higher rate of people testing positive than in northern parts of the metropolitan area.

Fresno County’s overall positivity rate stands at about 10.8%, according to Friday’s update from the county Department of Public Health. That means for every 100 people who have been tested for the virus in the county, about 11 are confirmed to have been infected.

But some Fresno ZIP codes have even higher positivity rates — some markedly so. Even discounting downtown Fresno’s 93721, where about 750 COVID-positive inmates at the Fresno County Jail account for more than three-quarters of confirmed infections, eight other ZIP codes in the central and southern parts of the city of Fresno exceed the countywide rates.

The most recent data available from the county for individual ZIP codes was release July 17. It show that Clovis and northerly areas of Fresno all show lower percentages of infections among those who have been tested.

Salons can cut hair outdoors in Fresno. Why more aren’t doing it?

As of last week, people in Fresno County can get their hair cut and eyebrows waxed outside. They can also get manicures and massages in outdoor areas adjacent to licensed buisnesses. Think parking lots and breezeways. Think tents and misters and early-morning appointments to beat the heat.

A handful of businesses in Fresno and Clovis — places like Arch Haus of Brows — are taking advantage of the new rules. Others say that the heat, the cost of investing in shade for customers and the regulations still in place — there’s no beard trims, shampooing or chemical hair services allowed — preventing them from setting up outside.

Some teachers say Fresno Unified should postpone school year start

While Fresno Unified School District is scheduled to begin classes Aug. 17, it has yet to finalize its distance-learning plan, leaving some teachers to wonder if there’s enough time to prepare for another semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendent Bob Nelson said distance learning would be different than it was in the spring, but the plans discussed by district officials have been short on details, according to teachers who spoke to The Bee on condition of anonymity.

The Fresno Teachers Association has suggested postponing the start of the school year, but district officials have not signaled a willingness to consider the idea, teachers said.

Let Us Worship tour stop in downtown Fresno

Hundreds of people gathered near City Hall on Saturday night as Christian musician and activist Sean Feucht brought his Let Us Worship tour to downtown Fresno.

Worshipers sat on the lawn or grass berms in front of the City Hall while others were scattered nearby and at Mariposa Mall. There were signs reading “Let us worship,” “Blessed are the peacemakers” and “Love you Jesus!” There were baptisms in the City Hall fountain. The evening ended with a march around the building.

The event was part religious service, part political rally in opposition to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus-driven lockdown orders that have shut down church services and many other indoor gatherings. The Fresno stop was just the latest on the tour, which included a visit to Bakersfield on Friday night. On Sunday it headed to a rally on a beach near San Diego and was expected to head east to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 8:38 AM.