Coronavirus updates: Fresno County school defies state closure order. Will ‘strike teams’ work?

The central San Joaquin Valley reported 811 new positive cases of coronavirus on Wednesday as state and county health officials continue to reconcile a backlog of testing.

Fresno County added 366 new cases and has seen a total of 18,344 positive cases since the pandemic began, though health officials said Wednesday that 1,800 tests, believed to be positive, were still waiting to be processed and added to the county’s reporting dashboard.

The number of new cases in Tulare County was just under triple digits on Wednesday. The county added 204 new cases on Thursday. Seven related deaths were reported over the last two days. More than 200 people have now died of the coronavirus in the county.

In all, the six-county region is closing in on 600 coronavirus-related deaths and 45,000 positive cases.

Demand for testing high in Fresno County

Three of Fresno County’s main cornonavirus testing sites — at Fresno City College, the Sanger Community Center and West Fresno Regional Center — are operating at 90 percent capacity on most days. They are not meeting the demands of everyone who wants to get tested, Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, said during a media briefing Wednesday.

The county has taken to doing pop-up testing events while ramping up testing at primary care clinics doctor’s offices. The county said it is working to mandate the offering of tests at all primary-care clinics and is using resources from the state’s testing task force to connect with available labs to process those tests.

Can Newsom’s COVID-19 ‘strike team’ make a difference in Valley?

California has promised $52 million and a few dozen experts to help gain control over the COVID-19 pandemic in the Central Valley.

These so-called strike teams of experts, sent at the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom, will assist local officials in tracking COVID clusters, inspecting workplaces, quarantining the sick and ramping up testing.

At least one infectious-disease expert says that while the additional boots on the ground will surely help, it is ultimately up to Valley residents to take the necessary precautions.

“The commandos themselves don’t really fight the virus,” said Andrew Noymer, an expert on population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine. What’s needed is “action on the part of everyone to mask, and physically distant.”

Clovis schools release plan for fall classes

Clovis Unified parents, staff, and students have a clearer idea of what the first day of the fall semester will look like on Monday.

All students will be doing some form of distance learning, due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s school guidelines prohibiting counties on the COVID-19 watchlist (which includes Fresno) from traditional in-person learning. There is a the choice between two models of instruction; Clovis Unified Connect, an online at-home learning system with curriculum aligned to state standards, and a “flexible online program.”

Students participating in Clovis Unified Connect will return to in-person learning as soon as restrictions are lifted. Students participating in the flexible option will be able to continue online distance learning even after restrictions have been lifted.

The flexible option is only available during the fall semester of the 2020-2021 school year.

Valley school opening could force showdown in court

Immanuel Schools in Reedley ignored a state mandate and offered in-person learning on Thursday.

A spokesperson with the Fresno County Department of Public Health on Wednesday said that the county was aware that Immanuel was planning to start in-person school Thursday and reiterated that the county is not granting waiver requests for any schools to allow in-person learning.

The Department of Public Health said it would take action and order the school closed. If the school violates that order, the county would take action in Superior Court and file a petition with the state.

Additionally, the school could be subjected to prosecution for unfair business practices.

In a statement on Thursday, the school said keeping students off campus is “detrimental to students’ academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual development” and a “burden to working families.” School officials also said they believe the state orders are unconstitutional and that they are working with and other Christ-centered and private schools to file a lawsuit.

This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 8:35 AM.