In the span of a week, COVID-19 claims more than three dozen lives in Fresno County
Fresno County reported 24 more deaths blamed on the novel coronavirus since Tuesday, wrapping up a week in which the county experienced more than three dozen fatalities and drove the central San Joaquin Valley to nearly 90 deaths over the past week.
Since the first deaths from COVID-19 in March, 738 residents in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, Mariposa and Tulare counties have lost their lives to the virus and the respiratory disease it causes. Of those, more than one-third have been reported in August alone.
The California Department of Public Health on Friday indicated that Fresno County had 296 new confirmed cases of residents infected with the coronavirus, bringing the county to a cumulative total of 24,367 people who, at some time since March, have contracted the virus.
Fewer than half of those infected in Fresno County are officially considered to be “recovered.” Officials with the Fresno County Department of Public Health said that they continue to try to catch up with many people who have tested positive, and that the number of people recovered is likely significantly higher than what’s been reported.
Around the Valley
Friday’s coronavirus updates from counties across the central San Joaquin Valley include:
Madera County: 107 new cases on Friday, 3,764 to date; no additional deaths, 54 to date; 2,994 people recovered.
Mariposa County: No new cases on Friday, 71 to date; no additional deaths, two to date; 68 people recovered.
Merced County: 76 new cases on Friday, 7,890 to date; one additional death, 115 to date; about 6,662 people recovered.
Tulare County: 109 new cases on Friday, 13,884 to date; three additional deaths, 232 to date; 13,060 people recovered.
Kings County: 13 new cases on Friday, 3,606 to date; no additional deaths, 42 to date; 2,224 people recovered.
Health departments across the Valley reported 601 new cases on Friday. Over the past two weeks, an average of 695 new cases were reported each day across the region. Friday was the first time the rolling 14-day average has dropped below 700 since July 26.
The average number of people being treated in hospitals for coronavirus infections has also been on the decline in recent days. In Fresno County, the two-week average on Thursday was about 240 patients, down from an average of almost 300 earlier this month.
Regionally, the average number of hospitalized patients on Thursday was 396, compared to figures that approached 600 earlier in August.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 5:42 PM.
