Coronavirus updates: Death toll hits 700 for the region; More kids are becoming infected

Nearly 20 more deaths were attributed to the coronavrius across the central San Joaquin Valley on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing the region’s total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 707 since the pandemic began.

Two were reported in both Madera and Merced counties on Wednesday, while Tulare County reported a total of 13 deaths since Tuesday. The county has 229 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths. Fresno County still has had the largest number of death in the region (239) but hasn’t updated its numbers since Tuesday. New numbers will come Friday.

Madera County reported the region’s first COVID-19 death on March 27 and Tulare County reported its first death a day later. Since then, the virus and the respiratory disease it causes have claimed progressively more lives each month.

August is the deadliest month yet. Including the deaths reported mid-morning Thursday, 255 residents in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties had succumbed to the virus. There were 206 deaths reported in July and 112 in June.

Tulare County reported 102 new positive coronavirus cases on Thursday, bring its countywide total to 13,775.

The region is pushing toward 55,000 positive cases of COVID-19, with an average of 780 new confirmed infections each day over the past two weeks.

That number is down since Sunday, when the 14-day average was about 954 per day. That high average was fueled by a stretch of individual days earlier this month in which no fewer than 800 and as many as 1,900 new cases were reported.

August has been bad for kids and coronavirus in the U.S.

Coronavirus infections among children in the United States jumped by more than 20% since the beginning of August, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

The report, which compiles COVID-19 data from 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, found the total number of infections among children increased from 358,469 to 432,629 between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20.

That’s 74,160 new cases in two weeks, the report says.

Children make up 9.3 percent of all COVID-19 cases and have an infection rate of 583 cases per 100,000 children, according to the report. Of those, between 0.2 and 8.6 percent are hospitalized. Under 0.7 percent of cases result in death.

But a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that, while coronavirus-related hospitalizations are lower among children than adults and that most cases in those under age 18 are asymptomatic or mild, children are still at risk of severe cases.

Fresno County continues legal battle with private school

On Tuesday, Fresno County lost the first round in a legal battle against Immanuel Schools in Reedley when a judge denied the county’s request for a temporary injunction and said it failed to prove the school was causing irreparable harm or creating an immediate danger.

But round two of the court battle will happen Sept. 15 with a full hearing on the issue before the same court. The new hearing will give the court all the evidentiary material, along with the county’s full response to the voluminous materials presented by the school the first time around, according to County Counsel Daniel Cederborg.

The school’s legal counsel could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but is representing the school in both superior court and before the state Supreme Court. Immanuel Schools is one of five plaintiffs in a case asking the state’s highest court to rule on whether Gov. Gavin Newsom has the authority to keep children out of their private schools as a matter of public health.

The plaintiffs are all faith-based schools and includes Clovis Christian.

Fresno leader blasts school’s mostly maskless rally as ‘selfish’

Meanwhile, Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias blasted Immanuel Schools’ leaders and parents on Thursday for taking part in a rally outside the courthouse, while not maintaining safety guidelines related to the coronavirus.

Speaking during this week’s city council meeting over Zoom, Arias called the rally “intentional” and “selfish” in a time when the city of Fresno is trying to make it safe for children to return to school.

The rally happened outside the B.F. Sisk Fresno County Courthouse and include some 450 students, staff and community members. Arias said the participants had the right to be at there for the school’s day in court, “but they shouldn’t intentionally and selfishly put people at risk by not following the basic guidance of wearing a mask,” he said.

A spokesperson from the school could not be immediately reached for comment.

Fresno City College to remain online into 2021

Fresno City College and other community colleges in the central San Joaquin Valley will remain primarily online for the spring 2021 semester, according to a Thursday-morning announcement from the State Center Community College District.

The decision comes with input from constituent groups and public health officials, said Chancellor Paul Parnell.

Some classes will still meet face-to-face, such as the police and fire academies and those for nursing students. They will continue with social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing, Parnell said.

Fresno State has not yet announced a spring 2021 plan. However, California State University Chancellor Timothy White said in July that COVID-19 would likely affect the whole academic year, ending in May 2021.

Some Fresno area schools could reopen in ‘weeks, not months’

Fresno County’s top health official, Dr. Rais Vohra, said Fresno-area schools could begin applying for waivers to reopen in a matter of weeks.

That’s not a promise, he said, and Fresno residents will have a lot of work to do if that’s going to happen.

The health department might soon grant waivers for elementary schools to reopen. The state recommends waivers for sixth-grade students and younger only for counties with fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 people. According to Vohra, Fresno County remains above that metric but could get there in as little as a few weeks.

To get off the state’s watchlist, counties must have coronavirus cases under control at a rate of 100 or fewer cases per 100,000 people. It must also have decreasing hospitalizations and a certain percentage of ICU beds and ventilators available.

Community Medical Centers receives $25K COVID-19 relief grant

Community Medical Centers received a $25,000 grant — plus $25,000 in matching funds — to support the hospitals’ fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The grant, given by homebuilder Bonadelle Neighborhoods, will fund the hospital’s Employee Assistance Programs. These programs were created to help with unforeseen expenses for staff who may become ill, or to offset childcare costs. That donation was matched by a $25,000 donation from an anonymous donor.

The money will be put to work immediately as requests from employees for financial help is ongoing, the hospital said.

To date, Community’s Employee Assistance Programs have helped more than 1,400 employees and covered more than 13,000 hours of staff time since April.

This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 8:31 AM.