Fresno doctor fears ‘pandemic fatigue’ may lead some to ignore virus safety for Halloween
Fresno County reported its sixth consecutive day with more than 100 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, in addition to three more deaths since Friday.
The updates from the California Department of Public Health and the Fresno County Department of Public Health included 111 cases, bringing to 30,969 the number of county residents who have tested positive for the infection since the first confirmed instances of COVID-19 in early March.
With the three additional deaths reported Tuesday, 439 people in Fresno County have succumbed to the virus and the respiratory illness it causes.
Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, expressed concern about this weekend’s Halloween holiday as well as residents’ feelings of frustration and fatigue over public safety measures put in place locally and statewide to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“The new scary monster that we do have to deal with right now is something called pandemic fatigue,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “That will create a real nightmare scenario for us if we allow our apathy, our complacency, our sense of fatigue to overwhelm all of these really good preventative strategies” including wearing face coverings in public, maintaining social distancing and avoiding large gatherings.
“We really do have to make a habit out of safety,” he added. “This is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. … Stay kind, stay civil, stay patient.”
“We know people are exhausted. … We know that all of those elements are out there and that they’re working against us,” Vohra said. “Remember that our fatigue and our indignation and our defiance will come back to haunt us this Halloween if we’re not careful.”
Around the Valley
Tuesday updates of coronavirus cases and deaths from counties in the central San Joaquin Valley include:
Fresno County: 111 new cases Tuesday, 30,969 to date; three additional deaths, 439 to date. Fresno County updates its count of deaths on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Kings County: 131 new cases Tuesday, 8,370 to date; no additional deaths, 83 to date. State prisons in Avenal and Corcoran accounted for 119 of the new cases reported Tuesday, and 3,764 to date.
Madera County: 17 new cases Tuesday, 5,037 to date; no additional deaths, 74 to date.
Mariposa County: No new cases Tuesday, 78 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 41 new cases Tuesday, 9,572 to date; no additional deaths, 155 to date.
Tulare County: 88 new cases Tuesday, 17,678 to date; no additional deaths, 288 to date.
