Coronavirus update: Fresno County could pass 41,000 cases ahead of death toll update
Fresno County officials have reported 301 new COVID-19 cases, pushing its total infections close to 41,000 cases, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
Since the onset of the virus, a total of 40,869 people in Fresno County have contracted the disease, while 506 people have died, state data shows. Over two days, the county added nearly 1,000 new cases, reporting a cumulative sum of 761 on Monday and Sunday. Fresno County officials will provide an update on the number of COVID-19 fatalities Tuesday.
On Monday, Fresno County’s 14-day average positivity rate was 10.4%, while the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations grew to 408.
As a result, the number of available ICU beds in the area’s hospitals has fallen, with the county reporting an ICU capacity rate of 6.3%. On Friday, the ICU capacity in the region was at 14.1%, and as of Sunday, it had gone down to 6.6%. This means there were only seven ICU beds available in Fresno County as of Monday, out of 149 licensed ICU beds for a population of more than 1 million.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week said regions with less than 15% ICU capacity would be subject to a stay-at-home mandate for at least three weeks to prevent overwhelming hospitals.
The county, and the central San Joaquin Valley region, falls under the lockdown, which went into effect Monday at midnight.
Fresno councilmember Esmeralda Soria tests positive
Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria announced Monday night she contracted COVID-19, the latest Fresno leader to test positive for the virus.
Soria’s announcement comes nearly a month after Fresno Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer and Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau said they had tested positive after attending a dinner party together on election night.
Following her positive diagnosis, Soria said she had canceled all public appearances when she started feeling symptoms. Soria said she would follow her doctor’s orders and remain in self-quarantine.
California COVID-19 case updates
At least 34,490 new coronavirus cases were reported statewide on Monday, bringing California’s total to 1,385,689 people infected. With the pandemic taking the lives of hundreds of new residents each day, the case count has now reached 20,054 deaths, up 117 on Monday.
A total of 2,470 COVID-19 patients were in the ICU as of Monday, representing an increase of 77% from the day before. In total, 10,998 patients were hospitalized Monday for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 illness.
With California coronavirus cases increasing rapidly by the day, the Latino community continues to suffer some of the greatest losses, according to a new report released Monday.
In California, Latinos represent about 40% of the population but account for 59% of COVID-19 cases and 48.5% of virus-related deaths, a new report by the California Economic Latino Institute shows.
Among the pool of residents who have lost their jobs, nearly two-thirds of Latinos across the state reported they were unemployed, showing that unemployment rates within the community have doubled compared to the same time from last year.
Deaths among California Latinos are 36% higher this year than they were last year. Among white Californians, deaths have increased by about 6% compared to 2019.
National coronavirus case updates
With the U.S. recording a new daily average of 201,756 coronavirus cases in the past week, the total number of people who have contracted the disease has rapidly risen, amounting to more than 15 million cases since the pandemic began.
For the past few days, the U.S. has continued to set record new highs for cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, despite state and national officials imposing new restrictions to curb the spread, The New York Times reports.
On Monday, 202,268 new COVID-19 cases were added in addition to 1,522 new deaths. Every day, about 2,000 more people die from COVID-19 complications, bringing the current death toll as of Monday to 283,835, a number that has nearly doubled in just two weeks, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
The number of hospitalized people nationwide has increased to 102,148, a 23% increase from two weeks ago.
Days before the Federal Drug and Food Administration’s vaccine advisory group is scheduled to meet to authorize the first use of a coronavirus vaccine, the agency revealed Tuesday the drugmaker Pfizer’s vaccine provides strong protection against contracting the disease within 10 days of receiving the first dose, The New York Times reports.
Ahead of its meeting, the FDA released documents on Tuesday that the vaccine worked well despite an individual’s race, weight, or age. Participants in the pharmaceutical company’s clinical trial did not report any serious adverse effects from taking the drug. Still, many did experience mild symptoms, including aches and fevers, the report shows.
Following the release of data from its first clinical trial last month, Pfizer showed its vaccine — developed in partnership with the company BioNTech — had a 95% efficacy rate in protecting participants against the virus.
The F.D.A.’s vaccine advisory panel on Thursday will discuss the findings the documents show before voting on whether to recommend authorization.