Fresno County COVID-19 daily case average tops 200. Prisons drive Kings County surge
Fresno County added more than 1,400 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, capped with the confirmation Friday of 172 additional COVID-19 infections.
Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer, announced the latest update on Friday afternoon. In addition to the new cases identified through testing, Vohra said that since Tuesday there were three additional deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and the respiratory disease it causes.
“We are experiencing the same surge that the rest of the state is experiencing,” Vohra said. “It’s a fragile time. It’s a time when we need to take the precautions very seriously to make sure we have minimal loss of life and minimal suffering throughout our county.”
For months, Vohra has implored residents to wear face masks and maintain six feet of social distancing from other people when out in public, as well as to practice frequent hand washing or sanitation and to stay at home and isolate if one is feeling sick.
The new cases bring Fresno County’s cumulative total to 33,459 people who have tested positive for the virus since the first local COVID-19 cases were confirmed in early March. Of those, 459 people have lost their lives to the disease.
Over the past seven days, the county has averaged about 200 new daily cases. including two consecutive days on Wednesday and Thursday in which more than 260 cases were reported each day. One week ago, the seven-day average was 106.
Until Friday, the rolling seven-day average had not exceeded 200 new infections since early September.
Also on Friday, Tulare County reported that it has reached 300 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
California state prison outbreak
In neighboring Kings County, almost half of the 9,372 COVID-19 infections confirmed are among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran. On Friday, the county reported 95 new cases overall, including 72 within the prison system.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported Friday that 510 active cases at the Substance Abuse Treatment Faciity in Corcoran have surfaced in the past two weeks. That’s almost half of the cases that have been observed to date at the prison over the past eight months.
In comparison, Avenal State Prison has had 20 new cases in the past two weeks, while Corcoran State Prison – adjacent to the substance abuse facility – reported three new cases in that period.
Pleasant Valley State Prison, near Coalinga in Fresno County, has seen 16 cases in the past two weeks.
In Madera County, 58 new cases have sprung up over the past 14 days at Valley State Prison near Chowchilla. The neighboring Central California Women’s Facility has had no new cases in that period.
Around the Valley
Friday’s COVID-19 case updates from central San Joaquin Valley counties include:
Fresno County: 172 new cases, 33,459 to date; three additional deaths, 459 to date. There are 120 confirmed coronavirus patients being treated in Fresno County hospitals, including 28 in intensive-care units.
Kings County: 95 new cases, 9,372 to date; no additional deaths, 87 to date. The cases include 4,374 infections among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran. County hospitals are treating 20 confirmed patients, including three in ICUs.
Madera County: 65 new cases, 5,426 to date; no additional deaths, 76 to date. Hospitals in the county are treating 11 confirmed patients, including two in ICUs, as well as 14 more patients who are suspected of having COVID-19.
Merced County: 61 new cases, 10,374 to date; three additional deaths, 169 to date. The county’s hospitals are treating a total of 17 confirmed coronavirus patients, including six in ICUs.
Tulare County: 155 new cases, 18,896 to date; one additional death, 300 to date. The county has 40 confirmed patients being treated in its hospitals, including three in intensive care. Seven additional hospital patients are suspected of having the virus.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 2:56 PM.
