Coronavirus updates: July fatalities among top causes of death; State unemployment upgrades

At least two dozen more people have died of the coronavirus in the central San Joaquin Valley, according to health departments across the six-county region on Tuesday.

Of those, 19 were reported in Fresno County in the first of its weekly updates. The county has now had 157 coronavirus-related death since March, according to health officials. Tulare County, which reported 15 deaths this week, continues to lead the region. So far it has reported 193 people have died due to COVID-19. Deaths in Kings, Madera and Mecerd counties all remain in double digits. Mariposa has reported two deaths.

Across the region, 632 new positive cases of coronavirus were reported Tuesday; a number below the daily average of 806 cases the area has seen over the past two weeks. There have now been more than 37,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Valley. Of those, more than 17,000 are considered active. Nearly 19,000 have recovered.

COVID stands out among leading cause of deaths in July

More deaths were attributed to COVID-19 in Fresno County in July than almost all other leading causes of death for the month, looking at a three-year historical average.

The coronavirus was deemed as the cause of death for 65 people in Fresno County last month. For comparison, the leading causes of death in the county in July 2016-2018 were heart diseases (126 deaths on average) and cancer (111 deaths). The next closest cause of death would be accidents, which were blamed for an average of 40 July deaths over the three-year period.

Broadening it out to the central San Joaquin Valley, 206 people died of COVID-19 in July. Heart diseases killed an average of 248 people from 2016-2018 and cancer, an average of 233 people. Accidents were the cause of 85 death for the month, on average.

State unemployment agency call times

As it sits, getting help from with your unemployment benefits on the phones could take four to six weeks, as California’s Employment Development Department deals with a back log of calls.

Those call are grow as benefit levels change, thanks to the end of the $600 supplemental payment the federal government provided from late March until the end of July. The White House and congressional leaders continue to negotiate a way to replace at least part of the payment, but remain far from an agreement.

The department is upgrading its call centers so it can have fully-trained staff members available daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Currently, that line is largely for general questions and called “secondary technical assistance.”

A separate call center, which operates from 8 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, is designed to handle individual issues.

There is no exact date for when the 8 to 8 call center will have fully trained staff members be available, though the department is hiring 5,300 workers to help respond more quickly and efficiently, and the state has redirected 1,300 workers already in the agency to help.

Fresno city employee tests positive

A Fresno city employee tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter issued to all workers on Tuesday.

The employee has not been at work since July 28, the letter says.

Officials are working to speak to anyone who may have been in contact with the person, as well as clean the areas where the infected person worked, according to the letter.

The letter was not specific about in which department the employee worked.

This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 8:59 AM.