Coronavirus update: Fresno County surpasses 90,000 infections; hospital cases slowing

Fresno County went past the 90,000-mark in COVID-19 cases on Friday, adding 378 for a total of 90,126 the pandemic began.

But with the number of patients in hospitals and intensive care units dropping across the valley and the state, the California Department of Public Health rescinded a Hospital Surge Public Health Order that was issued in early January.

The order ensured that hospitals could care for critically ill patients suffering from the coronavirus as well as other life-threatening conditions, requiring hospitals statewide to accept patient transfers from facilities that had implemented crisis care guidelines.

When put into effect on Jan. 5, a number of hospitals in the state requested waivers for conventional staffing ratios per patient and anticipated ongoing staffing shortages. There also was a shortage of ICU beds, and while many hospitals added capacity, they still needed additional staffing to meet demand.

Hospitals in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California were among the hardest hit, and until Friday, hospitals in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties remained under the Hospital Surge Public Health Order.

When the order was lifted on Friday, the number of COVID-19 patients in Fresno County hospitals was down 16, to 419 and the number of patients in ICUs was down by 30, to 62, according to CDPH data.

Hospitals in other valley counties also were treating fewer coronavirus patients.

In Kern County, the number of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 was down to 259, a number it had not seen since mid-December. There were 196 COVID-19 patients in San Joaquin County hospitals, down from 223 one week ago and 285 two weeks ago.

Across California, there were 12,863 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, down by 414 from the previous day. There also were 3,432 in ICUs, down by 205.

While the number of hospitalizations across the state continues to trend downward, the number of new deaths remains high. There were 558 new deaths reported by the CDPH on Friday, including 26 from a late Thursday afternoon update by Fresno County public health officials.

The number of new deaths was higher than the state 7-day and 14-day averages of 492 and 518.

Here are the most recent updates from the Central San Joaquin Valley from the CDPH.

Fresno County

• 378 new cases; 90,126 total
• 7-day average 389; 14-day 428
• 26 new deaths; 1,224 total

Kings County

• 87 new cases; 20,918 total
• 7-day average 84; 14-day 92
• 12 new deaths; 189 total

Madera County

• 101 new cases; 14,706 total
• 7-day average 58; 14-day 74
• 0 new deaths; 184 total

Mariposa County

• 1 new case; 348 total
• 7-day average 2; 14-day 2
• 0 new deaths; 5 total

Merced County

• 109 new cases; 26,629 total
• 7-day average 144; 14-day 157
• 0 new deaths; 359 total

Tulare County

• 145 new cases; 44,983 total
• 7-day average 177; 14-day 207
• 13 new deaths; 632 total

With a 7-day average of 492 new deaths across the state, California could be days away from passing New York for the most of any state in the nation.

California closes in on most deaths in nation

New York has had 44,466 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic while California has had 43,543, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

The state has been doubling or tripling the number of deaths per day for much of the past two weeks. On Friday, New York reported 155 new deaths while California had the 558; on Thursday, New York had 163 new deaths and California had 655; on Wednesday, it was 170 and 481.

Fresno schools update

With Fresno County struggling with a severe shortage of COVID-19 vaccine, public health officials said that teachers might not be able line up for vaccinations until March or April.

Joe Prado, Fresno County’s community health division manager, said on Friday they have been working with supplies on a “week-to-week” basis when what is needed is a 30-day supply.

“It’s going to be very difficult from a week-to-week (supply) to make any significant movements into another tier until we get some sort of guarantee of what that 30-day supply looks like,” Prado said, in a virtual news conference.