Coronavirus update: 65 new deaths in Fresno County; no fines issued by city for NYE parties
Fresno County on New Year’s Day reported 65 new fatal cases of COVID-19 amid fears of a looming surge from the end of the year holidays, according to health officials.
The county has seen 711 deaths among its 66,442 cases of the coronavirus recorded since the pandemic began in March. The county does not report deaths daily, and Friday’s tally was the first in 10 days.
Also, on Friday, Fresno County tallied 1,042 new cases.
With an average of 715 cases a day for the past seven days, Fresno County also has 628 hospitalized patients. There were 10 open and staffed beds in the intensive care units as of Saturday.
Of those who tested positive, 26,742 have recovered, according to health officials.
The San Joaquin Valley region remains under the regional stay-at-home order. At 0% availability, hospital ICUs in the region are below the 15% mark that would allow officials to consider re-opening many business sectors.
The Valley region, as it pertains to COVID-19 orders, refers, to Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus, Calaveras, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, San Benito, San Joaquin, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties.
Health officials have said the surge in the state is due mostly to Thanksgiving holiday gatherings. Parties from Christmas and the new year could lead to, as Gavin Newsom put it, “a surge on a surge.”
The statewide totals creep towards 2.3 million cases and 26,000 deaths.
New Year’s Eve citations
The city of Fresno did not hand out any $1,000 fines for gatherings of 50 or larger on New Year’s Eve or Day, the City Attorney’s Office said Saturday.
The Fresno City Council adopted a policy Thursday to fine New Year’s Eve party organizers and property owners.
The 5-2 decision to levy $1,000 fines for first offenses came during a special meeting just hours before parties tend to begin on the holiday. The no votes came from Councilmembers Garry Bredefeld and Paul Caprioglio, according to Council President Miguel Arias.
Repeated offenses could go up to $10,000, similar to other COVID-19 violations.
The City Attorney’s Office said code enforcement officers could still levy fines if they acquire the right amount of evidence of a gathering.
Vaccines for frontline workers
Even as more doctors, nurses, and others in the medical profession receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it could be months into the new year before the general public receives their shots.
Health officials say it’s part of the process in building up the local health system to inoculate the general public. The idea is to ensure there are enough doses on hand and sufficient medical providers to give out the vaccinations.
About 32,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been received by the county health department, according to Community Health Division Manager Joe Prado. Roughly half have been distributed to local medical providers, he said.
Rep.-elect David Valadao has COVID-19
California congressman-elect David Valadao, who is headed back to the House of Representatives after a narrow victory in November, said Friday he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Making his announcement via Twitter, Valadao said the result came via a rapid antigen test for COVID-19.
The 43-year-old Hanford Republican said he is waiting on results from a PCR test, considered more reliable but slower to process, and will quarantine in the meantime while working from home.
“The safety of my staff and fellow members of Congress is extremely important to me, so I’ll be hard at work for California’s 21st Congressional District here at home in Hanford,” he tweeted.
This story was originally published January 2, 2021 at 8:27 AM.
