Coronavirus update: Fresno adds over 350 new cases, remains under critical threshold
Fresno County health officials on Monday reported an additional 358 new COVID-19 cases. More than 1,650 new infections have been recorded since Friday.
A total of 44,114 infections have been reported in Fresno County since March, and 542 people have died.
ICU capacity remains strained in Fresno County and throughout the region, but the number of available beds increased slightly since last week’s reported 0% ICU bed availability. As of Monday, there were 13 available ICU beds in Fresno County, according to state data.
Fresno County’s increase in available ICU beds comes even as the number of coronavirus cases reached its highest tally yet since early March when the outbreak emerged in the region.
As of Sunday, there were 90 COVID-19 positive patients in addition to eight suspected cases in Fresno County’s ICU ward. A total of 458 patients are currently hospitalized due to the virus.
California’s Central Valley approaching 106,000 COVID-19 cases
The six counties that make up the central San Joaquin Valley - Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare - have collectively reported nearly 106,000 coronavirus infections, and 1,290 people have died.
As of Monday, there were 29 ICU beds available in Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare counties, after dipping to as few as 18 beds just two days earlier.
California on the edge of 22,000 coronavirus deaths
The California Department of Public Health added 42,129 new coronavirus cases on Monday, representing a 120% increase from two weeks ago and bringing the state’s tally to more than 1.6 million since the pandemic began. Of those, 21,196 residents have died, up by 153 Monday. The number of deaths in the state has increased by more than 159% from the average tally reported 14 days ago.
Over the past week, the state has averaged nearly 33,000 new cases a day, increasing 120% from the average two weeks earlier. As of Monday, there are 13,635 hospitalized COVID-19 patients statewide, breaking the state’s previous record high and increasing by 75% in the past two weeks.
National COVID-19 updates
There were 201,073 new COVID-19 infections reported in the U.S. on Monday, bringing the nationwide total to more than 16.5 million. At least 1,678 new deaths were added Monday, surpassing a new milestone and reaching more than 300,000 deaths with a total of 301,006. There has been an average of 209,600 daily cases in the past week, an increase of 31% from the beginning of the month, according to a New York Times database.
As of Tuesday morning, there were 110,549 hospitalizations.
Federal Drug and Food Administration officials this week are likely to approve the emergency authorization of the drug company Moderna’s vaccine after a report released by the agency Tuesday said it is highly protective for adults and prevents severe cases of COVID-19.
The move comes just one day after the U.S. began a mass vaccine distribution effort of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer’s drug, which had a 95% efficacy rate and was granted approval last week.
The FDA’s analysis confirmed Moderna’s early finding that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of about 94% in a trial of at least 30,000 participants, The New York Times reports. Mild side effects, including headaches, a slight fever, and fatigue, were present but did not pose a threat, the FDA confirmed.
If approved later this week, Moderna could start distributing about six million doses as early as next week, which would add to Pfizer’s nearly 300 million doses rolled out on Monday.
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 8:23 AM.