Largest coronavirus surge in 3-plus months pushes Fresno County past 40,000 total cases
Almost 430 new cases of novel coronavirus were identified in a 24-hour period in Fresno County, driving the number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 to more than 40,000 since early March.
The state Department of Public Health reported Saturday afternoon that since its previous report on Friday, 428 additional cases of coronavirus were confirmed through testing. It is the largest one-day increase in cases in Fresno County since mid-August, about three and a half months ago.
Over the past week, more than 2,100 people have shown new infections, or an average of more than 300 each day.
From the time of the first confirmed case of coronavirus on March 6, a total of 41,108 people have tested positive for the virus in Fresno County – whether they experienced any symptoms of the respiratory disease or not. Of those cases, 506 have lost their lives.
Of the cases in Fresno County, 1,050 have been among inmates at Pleasant Valley State Prison near Coalinga, including 620 cases that have been confirmed in the past two weeks. One inmate has died from COVID-19 there.
In neighboring Kings County, 160 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total count to date to 11,911. Two additional fatalities were also reported, pushing the county’s death toll to 93.
Inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran account for almost 48% of the county’s total of 11,911 cases. Of 82 deaths in the county, 11 have been among the prison populations.
Madera, Merced and Tulare counties do not typically provide updates over the weekends.
Mariposa County reported six new cases Saturday to bring the tally to 155.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
