Coronavirus update: Fresno adds nearly 600 cases in 2 days as stay-at-home order looms
Fresno County has reported more than 2,200 coronavirus cases in the past week, averaging about 322 cases a day. Currently, there are a total of 38,568 cases since the virus first swept its way through the county, with 574 added over Sunday and Monday.
The county has had a total of 481 COVID-19 related deaths. No new deaths were reported Monday, though officials will provide an update Tuesday.
As of Sunday, Fresno County has 287 people hospitalized for COVID-19, increasing by 13, with 56 of those in the ICU. An additional 25 hospitalized people, including one ICU patient, are suspected of having the virus.
According to the latest data available Monday from the California Department of Public Health, Fresno County is the worst in the area for total COVID-19 cases. State data shows only six other California counties have had more cases this year, including Kern County with about 2,000 cases, and tens of thousands more in a handful of Southern California counties.
Valleywide COVID-19 totals
Across the central San Joaquin Valley’s six-county region, 1,700 new reported cases of COVID-19 were reported over the weekend. More than 89,000 people have been infected across Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Kings, Merced, and Mariposa counties since the pandemic began.
As of Sunday, there were only 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.
California governor considers potential stay-at-home order
With December officially marking the holiday season, family get-togethers, travel, church services, and other indoor gatherings worry state officials that those events will lead to more COVID-19 infections.
Already, hospitals across the state are starting to get overwhelmed with the surge of new patients. Currently, there are 7,787 confirmed hospitalizations, with 1,182 COVID-19 patients in the ICU. The state in total has about 7,733 ICU hospital beds, where 75% are currently occupied. The number of hospitalized patients across the state currently infected with the virus is up 102% from two weeks ago.
If infection rates don’t slow, California is on track to surpass its ICU capacity by mid-December. That’s why Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday warned residents he is considering a new stay-at-home order in counties facing the worst increase in cases.
Following Thanksgiving weekend, California’s total coronavirus case count now stands at 1,230,152, increasing by 21,848 new cases Monday. The number of deaths has climbed to 19,214, up 63 from the day before.
Over the past week, California has averaged 14,108 daily cases, a 61.3% increase from 14 days ago.
According to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, 51 out of the state’s 58 counties are considered too risky to reopen, remaining in the most restrictive tier of California’s plan. In total, those counties account for about 98% of California’s population.
Among the infected, Latinos in California are nearly three times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus than white people.
White House pressures FDA to approve Pfizer vaccine
The U.S. recorded 167,759 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, as well as an additional 1,265 deaths. The weekly average of new cases has reached 160,387 per day, increasing by 3% from the average two weeks ago, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Those numbers now bring the countrywide total to 13,615,100 infected people, 268,000 of whom have died since the pandemic began.
The White House on Tuesday summoned the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s top official to explain why Pfizer — the company responsible for creating a COVID-19 vaccine with a 90% efficacy rate — has not yet been granted emergency authorization to start distributing its vaccine, The New York Times reports.
Pfizer was the first pharmaceutical company in the U.S. to apply for emergency authorization with the FDA last week after preliminary results from its clinical trial showed the vaccine was more than 90% effective in protecting participants from contracting COVID-19. A second drug company, Moderna, also applied for emergency use on Monday.
The White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who summoned FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, pressed the FDA executive on why the agency is not moving fast enough on approving emergency use for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine after President Donald Trump privately expressed concern countries in Europe might authorize it first, the New York Times reported.
Before the meeting, Hahn stressed it was not up to him to approve the vaccine as an independent expert panel made up of scientists and advisors will be reviewing the application and determining if it is safe for mass distribution. The panel is scheduled to meet on Dec. 10.