Coronavirus updates: Hospitalizations down, as numbers rise; South Valley school opens campus

While the number of positive coronavirus cases continued to rise by triple digits daily across the central San Joaquin Valley on Thursday, the number of people being hospitalized by the virus has dropped to below 500 for the first time since mid-July.

Still, the 475 confirmed COVID-19 patients (including 89 being treated in intensive care units) is about double what was seen in June. In Fresno County, the number of confirmed coronavirus patients in hospitals dipped to 260 (57 in ICU). That’s the lowest figure since July 17, though officials remain cautious because the number of new daily cases – which can precede illness requiring hospital care by fiveto seven days or more – continues to be elevated.

Fresno County, has seen a daily average of more than 312 new positive cases over the past two week, including 346 reported on Thursday.

There were nearly 1,100 positive cases reported on Thursday across the six-county region, which has now seen more than 45,000 coronavirus cases.

Tulare County added another 258 cases in its Friday update, but reported no new deaths in the county.

Nearly 600 people in the Valley have died from the virus, including 15 reported in Merced County on Thursday, the same day Madera and Kings County reported two deaths each. The region has seen 143 deaths — an average of 10 deaths each day — this month.

Fresno County orders Christian school to cease on-campus instruction

Less than a day after students returned to Immanuel Schools in Reedley, the Fresno County Department of Public Health issued an order that in-person instruction be stopped.

Students returned to classrooms at the private, faith-based K-12 school Thursday morning. That afternoon, the department issued its order and said it had received “numerous phone calls and messages from parents, teachers, and concerned community members regarding the reopening and in-person instruction at Immanuel Schools.”

All in-person instruction is prohibited until Fresno County has been off the state’s COVID-19 monitoring list for 14 days and the county can’t grant waivers for specific schools, per state regulations. Violating the health order can result in fines and penalties, increased liability for the school and school board and possibly forced closure.

In a statement earlier Thursday, Immanuel Schools said keeping students off campus is “detrimental to students’ academic, physical, emotional, and spiritual development,” and that it believe the state orders are unconstitutional. The school is working with other Christ-centered and private schools to file a lawsuit.

Students returned to classes Friday morning.

Tulare County elementary also has students on campus

A Tulare County elementary school just outside of Visalia also opened its doors this week for in-person classes, despite the governor’s order that mandates schools in that county stay closed.

Tulare County Department of Public Health is aware that Outside Creek Elementary School is operating and has students on-site, health department spokesperson Carrie Monteiro said in an email to The Bee.

Both Tulare and Fresno county health officials also put out statements this week announcing they would not be granting waivers to reopen elementary schools, an exception school districts could apply for through the county public health department to reopen elementary schools even if the counties were being monitored by the state.

Outside Creek was the last school in California to stay open back in March when schools started to shut down to slow the spread of COVID-19.

City of Fresno makes plans for $10.2M in CARES Act money

With no new coronavirus relief package coming from Congress any time soon, Fresno leaders outlined Friday how the city plans to spend $10.2 million from a previous package to help residents in the coming weeks.

The proposal, expected to be voted on Monday during a special City Council meeting, would fund efforts to get residents food, medical assistance and relief for small businesses.

This includes $4.4.million for meal and distribution operations at some 47 Fresno Unified school sites, with distribution partners like Neighborhood Industries, The Fresno Center and Every Neighborhood Partnership, among others.

Fresno treatment facility reopens after weeks of lockdown

A WestCare residential facility in Fresno reopened on Thursday after a COVID-19 outbreak prompted a quarantine lockdown that had staff and clients – including three children – sheltering in place.

The facility on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard went into “shelter in place” July 20 after a series of COVID-19 infections among staff and clients. The residential facility provides drug and alcohol treatment to men, women and women with children, said Shawn A. Jenkins, deputy chief operating officer for WestCare Foundation-Western Region.

Most staffers who weren’t isolated at the facility worked from home during the lockdown but returned to the office Thursday. WestCare halted new admissions during the shutdown, but the facility expects to resume admissions on Monday.

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 8:24 AM.