Coronavirus update: Fresno sees uptick in cases overwhelming nursing homes, hospitals countywide
The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday confirmed an additional 373 new coronavirus cases in Fresno County, representing a total of almost 2,100 new cases over the past week.
In total, 36,688 people have been infected with the virus since it first hit in the spring. Nearly nine months later, 22,979 people countywide have recovered while 477 have died. Local health officials on Tuesday reported six new deaths.
Countywide, this past week’s daily new case rate has averaged to about 300 cases per day, according to state data, or the equivalent to about 17.2 cases per 100,000 residents. That’s up from 14.6 cases per 100,000 people a week earlier and well above the threshold of seven new cases needed for Fresno County to regain its red Tier 2 status according to the state’s reopening plan. The county was demoted into the most restrictive purple Tier 1 last week.
Across the central San Joaquin Valley, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties also remained in the purple tier. Mariposa County, which last week was one of only two counties in the state to remain in the least restrictive yellow Tier 1, fell back into orange Tier 3.
Valleywide, more than 84,300 cases have been recorded since the pandemic began, while a total of 1,133 people died. 1,076 new cases were reported as of Tuesday.
Nursing home outbreaks across the Valley among worst in state
COVID-19 outbreaks at skilled nursing facilities in Fresno and Madera counties are among the worst this month in California. Just a handful of nursing homes in other parts of the state had more active COVID-19 cases this week than the area’s worst current outbreak at a Chowchilla facility, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
13 facilities Valleywide reported active coronavirus cases on Monday, where nearly nearly half of those were located in Fresno County, according to state data. In Fresno County, the largest current reported outbreaks are at Willow Creek Healthcare Center in Clovis with 39 cases out of 103 residents and 26 cases out of 80 residents at the Sierra Vista Healthcare Center in Fresno.
There are 132 nursing homes in Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings, Kern and Merced counties, which have all reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began and a total of 48 deaths.
Hospitals face new barriers to treating COVID-19 patients
As the number of infections has increased, the number of patients in recent days and weeks at many hospitals across the Valley has more than doubled. The upward trend of hospitalizations has many public health experts worried the hospital system will become overwhelmed with even more patients in an already busy season.
Hospitals in the Valley already experienced a spike in COVID-19 patients during the summer, when the peak number approached 400 in Fresno County and more than 600 across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties.
In the summer, hospitals had access to additional staffing including travel-registry nurses and medical teams from the U.S. Department of Defense deployed to several facilities to help with the workload. At the time, other parts of the country had already moved past their surge in hospitalizations, which meant California could rely on additional outside resources.
But this time, those resources are spread thin. Public health experts say it’s because hospitals nationwide are now seeing a second spike in cases, which could limit the ability of California hospitals to rely on as much out-of-state help.
Just days away from Thanksgiving and the busiest shopping day of the year, local officials are concerned people will fail to listen to public health pleas to wear masks, practice social distancing and limit indoor social gatherings during the holidays.
State numbers show dramatic increases
California in the past two weeks has averaged about 10,600 new cases of COVID-19 per day. The daily case rate has nearly tripled, and the statewide positivity rate has almost doubled in the past month. California as of Tuesday had recorded a total of 1,148,080 COVID-19 cases and 18,881 deaths. That’s an increase of 16,681 new cases and 103 new deaths from the day before.
The state’s number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 had dramatically increased during the first three weeks of November, from a little more than 2,500 at the start of the month to more than 5,800 by Tuesday. A total of 385 new patients were admitted to a hospital between Monday and Tuesday, a new single-day high.
45 of California’s 58 counties now reside in the purple Tier 1 stage of California’s reopening plan, called the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. Eight other counties are in red Tier 2, meaning there is “substantial” risk of transmitting the virus. Five counties are in orange Tier 3, where the risk is considered “moderate.”
National updates
Nationwide, a total of 12.6 million Americans have been infected with COVID-19, as the U.S. averages about 175,521 daily cases, according to an analysis by The New York Times. The number of deaths increased by 2,216 on Tuesday, totaling to nearly 260,000 deaths. 178,200 new cases were reported in the U.S. on Tuesday, increasing by an average of 43% from 14 days ago.
The Food and Drug Administration this week issued an emergency authorization to start implementing the experimental antibody treatment used on President Donald Trump after he contracted COVID-19 last month, The New York Times reports.
The experimental cocktail, formulated by the pharmaceutical company Regeneron, mixes two antibodies together. Some studies show the treatment has helped maintain the severity of the infection and reduced the number of medical visits for people who took the drugs in the early stages of their infection.
For now, the new treatment would only be available for Americans who are considered high risk and have COVID-19, which includes seniors over the age of 65 and those who have underlying conditions.