Coronavirus update, Oct. 20: Fresno County passes milestone ahead of big update Tuesday
Fresno County reached 30,050 coronavirus cases on Monday, a grim milestone as the county tries to maintain a lower level of infections that limits business operations but allows many to remain open.
Based on data reported Monday, Fresno County recorded 140 positive cases on Sunday night, the highest number since Sept. 13.
A total of 300 new cases were reported over the weekend.
The total number of deaths remained at 429 in Fresno County. That number could change Tuesday when health officials update the latest data.
But the county remains below the state threshold for cases per day per 100,000. Currently, it stands at 6.5. The state requires seven or fewer new daily cases per 100,000 in a seven-day period to remain in the red tier under California’s color-coded Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The state will provide an update Tuesday on county tier assignments using infection rates for the seven-day period ending Oct. 12. Merced and Kings counties are in the red tier of the state’s reopening blueprint, while Mariposa County is in yellow Tier 4, the least restrictive tier.
California will review COVID-19 vaccine first
California announced Monday that it would review any available vaccine for safety before making it widely available to the public.
California has now recorded 870,791 cases of coronavirus and 16,970 deaths, according to the state database.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he had appointed 11 doctors and scientists to review any vaccine from developers or the federal government.
The review will be conducted regardless of who wins the presidential election, Newsom said. But the rollout of a potential vaccine became political when the Democratic presidential ticket Joe Bien and Kamala Harris said they would not trust President Donald Trump’s assessment of a vaccine. They would trust the scientists, Biden and Harris said.
Some vaccines could be out by Thanksgiving around the country, USA Today reported.
National coronavirus numbers
The national COVID-19 trajectory is “worsening,” according to an analysis from The New York Times. The newspaper, which independently tracks coronavirus data, said the Midwest and Rocky Mountains are experiencing a fast rise of cases.
Across the county, 8,255,400 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus, and at least 220,000 have died, the Times reported.
There was hopeful news that the county would know whether a new stimulus bill would pass before the election by the end of Tuesday.
