Valley ICU beds nearly at max. Weekend COVID-19 cases highest in Fresno, Kings counties
There were at least 1,700 new reported cases of coronavirus in the central San Joaquin Valley over the weekend, putting more demand on strained area hospitals with dwindling intensive care unit beds.
There has been more than 89,000 people infected with the contagious virus across Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings, Merced and Mariposa counties since the pandemic began.
Kings and Fresno counties led the way in new weekend cases: 603 and 574, respectively, according to the latest data available Monday from the California Department of Public Health and county health departments.
Fresno County is the worst in the area for total COVID-19 cases. State data shows only six other California counties with more cases in 2020, including Kern County by about 2,000 cases, and tens of thousands more in a handful of Southern California counties.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also increasing, nearing records set this summer, with limited numbers of ICU beds available in area hospitals. As of Sunday, there were just four available ICU beds in Merced County, 10 in Kings County, 14 in both Fresno and Madera counties, and 23 in Tulare County. Mariposa County doesn’t have ICU beds.
Available ICU beds in the Valley have been low all year, but these shortages are very concerning now, with state officials projecting California will exceed its ICU capacity by mid-December if COVID-19 infection rates don’t slow.
Over the last seven days, Fresno County has had 2,253 new coronavirus cases, averaging 322 cases a day. The county has had 38,568 cases this year and 481 COVID-19 deaths.
The state reported 287 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Fresno County on Sunday, an increase of 13 – with 56 in the ICU. In addition, the state noted that 25 people hospitalized in Fresno County, and one ICU patient, are suspected COVID-19 patients.
In Kings County, there’s been a total of 11,270 cases and 87 deaths. Prison outbreaks contributed to the recent increases this weekend. The state reported 403 new daily cases in Kings County on Saturday – its largest daily spike in cases since June 24, which had 336 new cases.
There were 58 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Kings County on Sunday – eight in the ICU.
Public health officials are concerned Thanksgiving gatherings will lead to even more coronavirus infections. Those who gathered for the holiday should act like they’re infected and get a COVID-19 test, but not too soon after, which can lead to a false-negative.
State data shows no new COVID-19 deaths in the six-county Valley region over the weekend. However, Merced County’s website reported two more deaths since its last update last week, Tulare County reported four more deaths Monday, and Madera County reported one more death that isn’t reflected in the state’s latest tally.
Coronavirus cases in central San Joaquin Valley
COVID-19 cases in other nearby counties since the weekend began, including some numbers provided Monday:
Merced County: 355 new cases (12,175 total since the pandemic began), 32 now hospitalized in the county (at least 11 in the ICU), and 181 total deaths.
Tulare County: 279 new cases (20,793 total), 96 now hospitalized (12 in the ICU), and 312 total deaths.
Madera County: 240 new cases (6,290 total), 24 now hospitalized (7 in the ICU), and 86 total deaths.
Mariposa County: 16 new cases (139 total), 5 now hospitalized, and 2 total deaths.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 4:27 PM.
