Fresno County ‘experiencing a surge’ of COVID-19 cases, worrying health leaders
A rapid increase in the number of new coronavirus cases popping up each day in Fresno County is creating concern and consternation for local health officials tasked with trying to keep the pandemic from spiraling out of control in the community.
And while they would rather have voluntary compliance by businesses with renewed restrictions under California’s COVID-19 reopening tiers that took effect Tuesday, they said they are prepared to exercise their regulatory authority as necessary if businesses disregard the measures intended to curb the spread of the virus.
“We are experiencing a surge here in the county of Fresno and statewide,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer.
Fresno County and 40 other California counties reside in purple Tier 1, the most restrictive layer of the state’s color-coded Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Under Tier 1, restaurants are not allowed to offer indoor dining; instead, they are limited to outdoor seating or delivery/take-out service. Churches are prohibited from holding indoor worship services, and fitness clubs and gyms are only allowed to continue outdoor operations.
“I share in the concern and frustration” that some business owners are expressing over the more stringent tier, Fresno County Department of Public Health Director David Pomaville said Tuesday. Pomaville said his department expects to continue to work with businesses to find ways to come into compliance and “we’ll do everything we can to alleviate their concern.”
“But we’re not in a position to say businesses can open in defiance of the statewide requirements,” he added. “We are concerned if there are significant public health and safety concerns at businesses, we will take the necessary actions” for enforcement. Pomaville added that state agencies, including the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health and others, are stepping up their efforts to work in both consultation with businesses and enforcement of safety rules.
Pomaville’s comments are in apparent discord with two members of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, Nathan Magsig and Buddy Mendes, who said the county will rely on voluntary compliance rather than enforcement.
“All we can do is encourage people to voluntarily comply and be smart about what they do,” Mendes said..
“The concern we have is the rapid escalation of cases over the last two weeks,” Pomaville said. “That’s something that tends to grow exponentially. We are seeing cases that are being spread across the community.”
The backslide into the most restrictive tier comes as Fresno County and the state experience an increase in the rate of new cases, both locally and across California, said Vohra.
In Fresno County, the number of reported new cases more than doubled within a week, rising from an average of seven new daily cases per 100,000 residents to 14.6. “That reflects that surge, it reflects the hundreds of more cases per day that we are diagnosing of coronavirus,” Vohra said Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Fresno County reported 296 new cases of COVID-19. That comes on the heels of more than 300 new cases on Monday. The county has averaged more than 260 new cases each day for each of the past seven days. As recently as Nov. 6, that seven-day average was 105 new cases.
“Everyone is shocked by how extraordinary this surge really is,” Vohra said. “The slope of this surge now is actually even steeper than it was in the summer. While the numbers aren’t as high, the slope is steeper, which is all giving giving us a lot of concern.”
Adding to that concern, Vohra said, is data indicating that “12% of all coronavirus cases end up needing to visit the emergency department or the hospital.
Coronavirus across the Valley
Tuesday’s coronavirus updates from counties across the central San Joaquin Valley include:
Fresno County: 296 new cases, 34,593 to date; three additional deaths, 463 to date.
Kings County: 24 new cases, 9,625 to date; no additional deaths, 87 to date. More than 4,500 of Kings County’s cases are at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 47 new cases, 5561 to date; no additional deaths, 76 to date.
Mariposa County: One new case, 92 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 110 new cases, 10,662 to date; two additional deaths, 174 to date.
Tulare County: 266 new cases, 19,320 to date; one additional death, 301 to date.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 6:24 PM.
