As COVID approaches third year, see how hospitals in the Fresno region are faring
Hospitals throughout Fresno County and the central San Joaquin Valley are seeing relief from the burden imposed by COVID-19, as the number of confirmed coronavirus patients receiving in-patient care continues to drop.
The decline roughly coincides with a reduction in the number of new laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infections in central California – signaling that a surge of cases believed to be largely driven by the highly contagious omicron variant of coronavirus is waning.
On Thursday, Fresno County’s hospitals collectively held 295 COVID-19 patients in their beds – the first time the census of confirmed patients has fallen below 300 since early January, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.
Just three weeks ago, the volume of hospitalized coronavirus patients exceeded 600 in Fresno County.
Hospitals’ intensive-care units are also seeing their caseloads from COVID-19 easing up by more than half over the past few weeks, falling from more than 100 patients sick enough to require ICU treatment at the start of February to 48 on Thursday.
Across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, Thursday was the first time since Jan. 9 that there were fewer than 500 coronavirus patients requiring hospital treatment. The 498 hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients in the region on Thursday – almost half of what it was on Jan. 23, at the peak of the latest surge.
While emergency rooms at hospitals remain busy with many other types of cases, including heart attacks, strokes and trauma, they are seeing an easing in COVID-19 patients coming in for care.
The reduced impact of COVID-19 on hospitals allowed for lifting a policy calling for ambulance crews across the Valley to assess patients who called 911 to go to a hospital emergency room and deny transport if their case determined not to be a true emergency.
That policy, in place since Jan. 12, was rescinded on Tuesday, said Dan Lynch, director of emergency medical services for Fresno County. It had applied to ambulance operators in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties.
Patients who were not taken to hospitals by ambulance under the policy were instead referred to their family doctor, urgent-care centers, health clinics or telehealth services.
The six-week period was the third time the policy had been triggered since the coronavirus pandemic began in March 2020.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
