Coronavirus update: Fresno County hospitalizations reach new highs ahead of death toll update
Fresno County on Thursday reported a total of 41,954 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up by 380 infections from the previous day.
A total of 514 deaths have been reported since the pandemic began, and local health officials are scheduled to update the number of deaths Friday. There have been a total of 25,439 recoveries.
Nearly 3,400 Fresno County residents tested positive for the virus in the past 10 days, while the number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 complications rose to 460 on Wednesday, a new record high to date since the first local cases were confirmed in early March.
The urgent need for additional ICU beds, medical resources, and hospital staffing has strained Fresno County hospitals in recent weeks as the number of infections has climbed.
The number of newly hospitalized patients in ICU beds leaped by more than 25% in a single day, jumping from 74 on Tuesday to 95 on Wednesday — an increase of 21 patients or more than 28%. Two weeks ago, the county had just 39 confirmed coronavirus patients in its ICU beds.
Fresno approves controversial coronavirus safety order
A split Fresno City Council on Thursday narrowly approved a new safety order that allows the enforcement of coronavirus-related safety mandates on large backyard gatherings, which leaders say have become a super spreader concern.
The order allows the city to take action against backyard parties, which some council members said could mimic the effects of a concert if the city’s hospitals continue to get overwhelmed. Lawmakers on Thursday who supported the order said it was the latest measure they could take to slow the spread of the virus, though the order does not specify the size of a party that would be in violation, nor does it mention citations.
An uncontroversial part of the order was approved unanimously Thursday, requesting Gov. Gavin Newsom increase additional supplies in the region, including the number of hospital beds, medical staff, and vaccines for Fresno County.
Hospitalizations in central San Joaquin Valley soar
The number of confirmed hospitalizations within the six-county region that makes up the central San Joaquin Valley reached 743 on Wednesday, not including an additional 60 patients suspected of having the disease.
In neighboring Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare counties, 133 confirmed coronavirus patients were in the ICU Wednesday, as well as four additional patients with symptoms.
Valleywide, 1,435 new cases were added Thursday, bringing the total number of people who have contracted the disease to 101,243, while 1,250 have died.
California COVID-19 update
As of Thursday, an additional 33,995 confirmed coronavirus cases were added in California, bringing the state’s total to 1,486,873. There were 20,639 deaths recorded as of Thursday, up by 172 from the day before, while over the past week, the state has averaged about 28,578 new cases and nearly 150 deaths per day.
Since the start of November, California’s rate of daily new infections and the total number of hospitalized patients have more than quadrupled. The number of those patients in the ICU has more than tripled, state data shows. The positivity rate across the state increased from a little more than 3% to 9% since the first week of November.
The state reported a record of nearly 31,000 new coronavirus cases added Wednesday. Hospitalizations have risen from 9,000 to 11,500 in the past six days. The state exceeded 2,600 total COVID-19 patients in the ICU on Thursday, causing the number of available beds to fall below 1,500 for the first time during the pandemic.
Though a vaccine is still months away from being widely available for mass distribution in California, public health experts hope the winter’s surge will be the last major uptick of the pandemic.
Newsom confirmed earlier this week that California had secured 327,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, with those shots expected to arrive by sometime next week. The first doses will go to health care workers.
National coronavirus updates
The number of coronavirus cases nationwide has skyrocketed to 15,696,400 as of Thursday, where at least 223,570 were added. About 2,923 new coronavirus deaths were also reported nationwide Thursday, bringing the total to 292,700, according to The New York Times.
The U.S on Thursday set yet another new record for the number of daily new deaths, breaking past 3,000. Later that same day, Thursday’s daily case count made it the second-worst ever recorded since the pandemic began.
On Wednesday, in an analysis of new federally released data, hospitals across the country serving more than 100 million Americans had fewer than 15% of their intensive care unit beds available during the past week, The New York Times confirmed.
An expert advisory panel on Thursday voted in favor of granting emergency authorization for a coronavirus vaccine developed by the drugmaker Pfizer. Now, the Federal Drug and Food Administration is expected to issue an emergency authorization on Saturday, which means the first COVID-19 vaccinations could start being administered as early as next week. Health care workers and nursing residents would be the first two groups to receive the vaccine.
Just 11 months ago, Pfizer, in partnership with the German company BioNTech, started developing the vaccine, breaking the record for developing a new vaccine, which typically takes years. Following the emergency approval of Pfizer’s vaccine, the F.D.A is expected to also approve the vaccine from the company Moderna, which in early November confirmed was also more than 90% effective.