Coronavirus update: Fresno County surges past 36,000 cases; Fresno Pacific updates plans
Just days away from Thanksgiving, Fresno County reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases over the course of three days, an increase that is inching the county toward a 40,000 cases.
An average of 288 new COVID-19 cases per day have surfaced in Fresno County over the past week — the highest seven-day average since late August. The county’s total of cases since the pandemic began now sits at 36,315. The number of deaths is at 471. County officials will provide an update on the number of deaths Tuesday.
According to the California Department of Public Health, 342 new positive cases were reported Monday, following a reported 338 Sunday and 357 Saturday. That’s a total of 1,037 and the first time since mid-August that the county has seen three consecutive days of more than 300 new infections.
As a result, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Fresno County has also risen sharply, with hospitalizations more than doubling in the past two weeks.
As of Monday, there were 232 hospitalizations , including 34 in the ICU. Just two weeks ago, hospitals confirmed there were 109 coronavirus patients, where 26 were in the ICU.
Across the central San Joaquin Valley, which includes Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, nearly 2,200 new cases were reported since Friday, including more than 1,270 on Monday. Valleywide, the total tally is now approaching 84,000, while the death toll has amounted to 1,123 lives.
Fresno extends deadline for grant program
Fresno officials on Monday announced the city was extending the deadline for a grant program designed to help nonprofits stay afloat amid the pandemic.
Eligible organizations for the city’s Save our Non-Profits Grant Program now have until Sunday, Nov. 29 to submit an application.
The Fresno City Council last month allocated $500,000 in grant funding to start the program. These organizations offer emergency services for displaced families, veterans, seniors and children, as well as domestic violence victims and the unemployed.
Qualifying organizations could receive between $5,000 and $20,000 in city dollars, which can be used for payroll expenses, rent and mortgage payments, utility fees, and costs related to implementing social distancing or other COVID-19 related public health requirements.
Remote learning to continue in 2021 at Fresno Pacific
Due to Fresno County’s demotion into the most restrictive tier of California’s reopening plan, most courses at Fresno Pacific University will continue to be held online for the spring 2021 semester, university officials confirmed Monday.
This means students pursuing a bachelor’s or graduate degree at one of the university’s four regional campuses — Merced, north Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield — will be studying from home full time. The university had already been preparing to implement a hybrid teaching model for next year’s instruction, but the rapid spread of new COVID-19 cases has put some of those plans on hold.
Labs are the only exception that will remain face-to-face, though school officials said each classroom has been modified to comply with the state’s health and safety protocols, including social distancing and the use of masks. They said all classrooms will be routinely disinfected and hand-sanitizing dispensers will be located throughout campus.
The university will also be holding December’s 2020 commencement as a drive-in, where spring and fall 2020 graduates receive their diploma in a drive-thru format.
University officials said the drive-thru will begin on Winery Avenue and from there, cars will be directed into the McDonald Hall Parking Lot, where a professional photographer will take a commencement photo of the graduate in their regalia, holding their diploma cover.
The celebration will take place Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12 on the main campus. Graduates and their families will have scheduled entrance times between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on each day.
California reports nearly 30,000 over weekend
The California Department of Public Health on Monday reported the two highest daily tallies for new coronavirus cases since the onset of the pandemic in early March, adding 15,442 cases Saturday and 14,319 cases Sunday, bringing the state’s total over 1.1 million.
As of Monday, California had recorded 1,131,399 COVID-19 cases, up 29,761 since Friday. A total of 18,778 deaths in the state have been reported since the pandemic began as the tally raised by 56 over the weekend.
California this week is entering the beginning of the holiday season with infection rates and hospitalizations soaring faster than ever. The state’s two-week average of daily new cases has doubled in two weeks, from about 4,750 in early November to more than 9,800 by Sunday. It stood at 9,894 after Monday’s addition of 8,337 new cases.
Statewide, 5,459 patients remain hospitalized, an increase of 82% from two weeks ago. Of those, 1,333 are in the ICU. The state is now averaging about 68 daily deaths over the past week.
National numbers increase like never before
The case count nationwide was 12.4 million as of Monday, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
On Monday, 179,067 new cases were reported in the U.S. while the number of deaths totals 257,629, up 1,032 from the day before.
The nation’s daily tally of new cases is as high as it’s ever been, showing an average of about 173,165 per day over the past week. Nine states, including Arizona, California, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Mexico, are reporting more than twice as many new daily cases than from two weeks ago.
State and national officials are warning Americans that the number of infections over the holidays will significantly increase if people do not take safety precautions and continue to travel and gather indoors.