Pace of COVID-19 deaths slows in Fresno and nearby counties. See the latest data
More than 100 Fresno County residents were confirmed with new infections of the novel coronavirus, and seven more people have died from the respiratory disease.
Friday’s updates from the state Department of Public Health and the Fresno County Department of Public Health indicated that 106 new cases of the virus surfaced. That snaps a string of four consecutive days in which fewer than 100 new COVID-19 cases were reported.
Between the deaths reported Friday in Fresno County and 11 on Tuesday, the 18 fatalities in the county this week is the fewest number of lives lost in a week since late July. Fresno County only updates its reports of coronavirus-related deaths on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Across the six-county central San Joaquin Valley, 34 deaths were noted over the past seven days – also the lowest death toll from COVID-19 across the region since late July.
The first local cases in the global COVID-19 pandemic were confirmed in early March. Since that time, more than 63,400 residents in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties have tested positive for the virus. More than 48,000 of those infected have recovered, but nearly 900 deaths in the Valley are attributed to the coronavirus.
A worldwide coronavirus tracker by the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine in Baltimore indicates that more than 30.3 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported worldwide, including 6.7 million in the U.S. Almost 950,000 people around the world have died, including more than 198,000 in the U.S.
The U.S. has the highest number of total cases to date, as well as the highest number of deaths blamed on the virus.
As of Friday afternoon, the Johns Hopkins tracking system showed California with more than 777,000 cases and 14,872 deaths.
Around the Valley
Friday updates across the central San Joaquin Valley included:
Fresno County: 106 new cases Friday, 27,487 cumulative to date; seven additional deaths, 355 to date; 17,296 people recovered.
Madera County: 26 new cases Friday, 4,296 to date; no additional deaths, 58 to date; 3,738 people recovered.
Mariposa County: No new cases Friday, 75 to date; no new deaths, two to date; 71 people recovered.
Merced County: 31 new cases Friday, 8,750 to date; three additional deaths, 134 to date; no update on recoveries.
Tulare County: 82 new cases Friday, 15,599 to date; no additional deaths, 156 to date; 14,823 people recovered.
Kings County had not issued a Friday update by 5 p.m. but was expected to report later Friday evening. As of Thursday, the county reported 7,201 cases to date, including 77 deaths. Recoveries numbered 4,741. The county’s totals include 3,078 cases at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran, including six deaths.
