Coronavirus updates: Tracking data delayed; No-cost testing in Fresno; Restaurant, bar closures

The number of positive case of coronavirus in the six-county central San Joaquin Valley grew by more than 750 on Thursday —slightly more than the average number of new cases reported in the area over the past two weeks.

Tulare County county reported 256 new positive cases on Thursday and another 141 on Friday. The state reported an increase of more than 350 in Fresno County, though that number could actually be larger, due to a glitch in state’s electronic reporting system.

The California Department of Public Health confirmed an undercounting of cases on Tuesday and said the problem is stalling contract tracing in the state and could affect the issuing of school reopening waivers.

The total number of cases in the region sits nears 40,000 and the number of deaths has topped 500, with five deaths reported between Tulare and Merced counties on Thursday. Tulare County reported no new coronavirus deaths on Friday, but nearly 200 people have died of the virus since March.

There have been no new deaths reported in Fresno County since its Tuesday update, though that could change when the county has the second of its weekly updates Friday. Kings County has not updated its numbers this week.

No-cost COVID-19 testing in Fresno

United Health Centers has emerged as one of largest COVID-19 test providers in the region. The health center performs 1,200 tests per day at 17 clinics and mobile events in Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties, including a no-cost testing event at Fresno’s Lyon’s Park last week.

Another no-cost event happens 8 a.m. to noon Friday at Manchester Center with others the following Wednesday at Hoover High School and Aug. 22 at Roeding Park. The event are advertised as “by appointment only,” but walk-ups are generally accepted. Appointments are available at unitedhealthcenters.org or by calling 1-800-492-4227.

Downtown Fresno bar closes, for now

After more than three months of selling to-go cocktails with food, the downtown bar Modernist has shut down.

The closure is temporary due to the coronavirus pandemic and came after the City of Fresno’s code enforcement visited the Fulton Street bar, giving notice that it didn’t meet the rules for serving to-go cocktails.

The business had apparently received a complaint.

In March, California’s department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said bars could sell drinks to go, as long as they were sold with food, in sealed containers, and placed in a trunk. In early July, the state issued a clarification that businesses would now need to offer more than just sandwiches and salads. It further specified that appetizers – chicken wings, cheese sticks or fried calamari, for example – did not meet the requirements of the meal that must be served with drinks.

Nor did snacks like chips, side dishes or reheated refrigerated or frozen entrees.

F. McLintocks closes its Paso Robles location

F. McLintocks Saloon will close its Paso Robles restaurant after more than 20 years due to the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic — although the chain will continue to operate its other three locations.

“It is with heavy hearts we announce F. McLintocks Saloon, Paso Robles has closed permanently,” the restaurant said in a Facebook post. “Sadly, the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been too much for us to undertake.”

Ana Breault, a McLintocks spokeswoman, called closing the Paso Robles location a “tactical decision.” The chain’s footprint “has always been a little more South County,” she said. The chain also owns its Shell Beach and San Luis Obispo locations, while it rents spaces in Paso Robles and Arroyo Grande.

The San Luis Obispo McLintocks location is currently open for outdoor meals Friday through Sunday — and the chain’s owners hope to open the Shell Beach restaurant soon. It is not financially possible for the restaurant’s Arroyo Grande location to open only its patio, Breault said.

This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 8:33 AM.