Valley patient tests negative for coronavirus. Positive cases rise in California
A patient in Tulare County has tested negative for the novel coronavirus as officials ramp up the response to the spreading virus.
Over the weekend, Adventist Health Tulare reported a patient was placed in isolation as a precaution after showing symptoms similar to the COVID-19. That patient was tested, and does not have the virus, Tammie Weyker-Adkins, spokeswoman for the Tulare Health and Human Services Agency, said Monday.
COVID-19 testing kits were delivered to the county on Friday, since it is one of several across the state that are hosting labs to conduct tests, according to the state health department.
Since last week, the California Department of Health has stepped up its response to the spreading virus. About 1,200 testing kits from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were sent to the state.
Tulare County is one of several counties in the state where the CDC has approved a laboratory to analyze tests for the coronavirus. The lab is available for surrounding counties in the San Joaquin Valley, officials said. According to state officials, Tulare County has at least one test kit and kits can test between 200 and 250 people each. Exactly how many tests are available in Tulare County remained unclear Monday.
Testing is not widely available, and only labs that are federally authorized can conduct the test. Officials said patients who are tested have either shown symptoms after traveling to China or are severely sick with pneumonia or lower respiratory-like disease of an unknown source.
Health officials in Fresno on Monday couldn’t say whether any Fresno County residents have been tested.
Kristynn Sullivan, an epidemiologist at the Merced County Public Health Department, said no Merced County residents had tested positive for the virus but refused to confirm whether any residents had actually even been tested. She said there was “no benefit” to answering the question and did not elaborate.
Concerns over the coronavirus increased after more deaths were confirmed in the United States. On Monday, federal health officials announced six people have now died in Washington State.
In California, state officials on Monday reported 43 positive cases; 9,100 people self-monitoring who returned from abroad through San Francisco or Los Angeles airports and 10 labs performing tests.
As testing ramps up in the country, some officials worry exposure to the virus was more widespread than initially believed and went undetected for weeks. Globally, the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has reached over 90,000. Just over 3,000 people have died from the virus.
Focus has intensified on addressing how residents and local governments should respond to the spreading virus. Health officials stress taking preventative measures like washing hands and not touching sensitive parts of the face, like mouths, eyes and noses.
But other health and legal experts say stronger methods need to be put into place to mitigate the disruption that is “inevitable” as the virus spreads in the country.
“I think we should be careful to understand that this is not just a matter of government. This is the whole community that has to respond,” said Scott Burris, professor of law and the director of the Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple Law School. “Even companies that at the moment don’t have paid sick leave policies or at the moment are not thinking about their responsibility for responding should be thinking.”
Managers at Costco supermarkets in Fresno and Clovis told The Bee on Monday that they have seen a recent surge in shoppers and a widespread shortage of items like water and cleaning wipes.
The higher foot traffic has been seen since at least Friday, the managers said. The locations get regular shipments of water, but at times the water has run out.
And although they couldn’t directly link the surge to virus concerns, the managers said Clorox wipes and other cleaning products have also quickly sold. The managers said the increase in shoppers has not been drastic, but noticeable.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:49 PM.
