A deadly week for coronavirus in Fresno County. How many lives were lost?
Fresno County experienced its deadliest week yet of the COVID-19 pandemic, with health officials confirming the deaths of 36 patients since last weekend.
Friday’s update by the Fresno County Department of Public Health included 28 fatalities, on top of eight that were announced on Tuesday. This week’s figures bring the number of lives lost to the novel coronavirus, and the respiratory disease it causes, to 61 across the county in December, and 542 since the first fatality in early April.
The state Department of Public Health reported 507 new confirmed COVID-19 infections in Fresno County, pushing the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus this month to almost 4,000, and to more than 42,000 since early March.
Hospitals in Fresno County were caring for 472 confirmed coronavirus patients on Thursday, including 79 in intensive-care units. Another 41 suspected COVID-19 cases – patients for whom test results had not yet confirmed the disease – were also hospitalized as of Thursday, state health officials reported.
Around the Valley
Across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, Friday coronavirus updates included:
Fresno County: 507 new cases reported Friday, 42,461 to date; 28 additional deaths, 542 to date.
Kings County: 133 new cases, 13,045 to date; one additional death, 98 to date. Inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran account for 6,240 of the confirmed cases, and 12 deaths, in the county.
Madera County: 144 new cases, 7,612 to date; no additional deaths, 107 to date.
Mariposa County: No new cases, 171 to date; no additional deaths, four to date.
Merced County: 173 new cases, 14,483 to date; five additional deaths, 207 to date.
Tulare County: 418 new cases, 25,042 to date; one new death, 327 to date.
This six-county region of central California now has almost 103,000 who have tested positive for COVID-19 infections since the first cases in early May. Of those, 1,285 have died from the disease.
Valleywide, hospitals were treating 755 confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday, including 144 in intensive-care units. Forty-six other patients with suspected cases of COVID-19 were also hospitalized.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 4:46 PM.
