Coronavirus update, Oct. 16: Fresno County to update death toll as cases spike nationally
Coronavirus cases in Fresno County the past week have steadily increased, raising concerns from public health experts who worry the virus coupled with this year’s flu season will result in a surge of more cases and deaths.
The upward trend could potentially force Fresno County, which recently graduated into the state’s second phase of its reopening plan, to regress into the purple Tier 1, the most restrictive level under California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The California Department of Public Health on Thursday reported an additional 71 new COVID-19 infections in Fresno County, raising the total to 29,650 since the onset of the pandemic.
A total of 424 have died in Fresno County since the outbreak. The county will provide an update on the number of deaths Friday afternoon. So far, 19,407 people have recovered.
For the past week, Fresno County’s new daily case rate has stood at six cases per 100,000 residents, holding a positivity rate of 5.1%, according to state data. A county must continue to meet the threshold for both the case rate and the testing positivity rate to remain outside the purple tier.
To progress into the next orange Tier 3, Fresno County’s rate of new daily cases must fall to fewer than four cases per 100,000 residents, and the testing positivity rate needs to fall below 5%.
If the county remains in the red tier for at least 21 days, it has the potential to graduate into the less restrictive orange Tier 3.
State and national updates
California’s total case count reached 858,401 on Thursday, while a total of 16,757 people have died statewide.
The national death toll from COVID-19 has reached 217,585 as of Friday morning, while more than eight million people have contracted the virus since the pandemic began in early March. The New York Times on Thursday reported 793 new COVID-19 deaths and 65,327 new daily cases nationwide.
A total of 39 states are experiencing massive outbreaks, affecting large rural areas where there is a lack of access to hospitals and health care professionals, The Washington Post reports. The latest surge in cases is the first time in months the U.S. has reported more than 64,000 cases since July, raising concern from public health officials.
Rather than a debate, President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden hosted competing town halls Thursday night.
Trump did not disclose whether he had taken a coronavirus test before debating Biden at last month’s first presidential debate. Biden said he would be open to taking a coronavirus vaccine and potentially making it mandatory despite a lack of enforcement, according to The Washington Post.