Fresno hit with over 250 new COVID-19 cases. Doctors brace for strain on hospitals
For the first time in several months, the California Department of Public Health reported two consecutive days in which Fresno County exceeded 260 new coronavirus infections.
State health officials on Thursday indicated 263 new COVID-19 cases confirmed by testing. That followed Wednesday’s report of 269 new cases and served to push Fresno County to more than 1,330 people newly infected by the virus over the past seven days.
The last time that Fresno County had back-to-back days with 260 or more cases was Aug. 22-23, when 305 and 357 cases were reported on consecutive days.
Since the first local cases in the global coronavirus pandemic were confirmed in Fresno County in early March, nearly 33,000 residents in the county have tested positive for the virus, whether they showed symptoms of the respiratory disease or not. Of those, the deaths of 456 people are attributed by health officials to COVID-19.
Across the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley, a total of 715 new cases were reported on Thursday. For Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare counties, which did not provide updates on Wednesday because of the Veterans Day holiday, Thursday’s totals represent two days’ worth of cases.
Valleywide, more than 77,000 cases have been confirmed, including 1,086 fatalities.
Thursday’s reports signal a continuing trend of rising cases that have health officials worried about a subsequent increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming days and weeks. In Fresno County, interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra has previously indicated that it’s typically five to seven days or more before a patient may become sick enough to seek care at a hospital.
And hospital stays for seriously ill coronavirus patients may last days or weeks before a person either recovers or succumbs to their illness.
Over the past seven days, Fresno County has seen an average of about 190 new cases each day; across the Valley, the seven-day average of new cases is about 421 per day.
Hospitalizations for confirmed COVID-19 cases are already ticking upward in Fresno County and across the Valley, even though the numbers are well below an August peak demand on hospital resources in the region.
As of Wednesday, the 14-day average number of people being treated for coronavirus disease in Fresno County hospitals was 104 patients, including an average of 27 in intensive-care units. A month ago, the two-week average was 94 patients, including 18 in ICUs.
Around the Valley
Thursday coronavirus updates from central San Joaquin Valley counties included:
Fresno County: 263 new cases Thursday, 33,287 to date; no additional deaths, 456 to date. Fresno County updates its death counts twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Kings County: 169 new cases since Tuesday, 9277 to date; no additional deaths, 87 to date. More than 4,300 of the cases, including nine deaths, are among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 31 new cases since Tuesday, 5,361 to date; no additional deaths, 76 to date.
Mariposa County: One new case, 89 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 120 new cases since Tuesday, 10,313 to date.; two additional deaths, 166 to date.
Tulare County: 131 new cases since Tuesday, 18,741 to date; no additional deaths, 299 to date.
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
