Fresno County reports two dozen more COVID-19 cases. No new deaths
Fresno County health officials on Friday announced another two dozen positive cases of the new coronavirus, bringing the total to 443.
Seven people have died and 90 have been hospitalized by the COVID-19 pandemic in the county through Friday, officials said. Another 157 have recovered.
The city of Fresno is starting to feel the economic pain of coronavirus and has made some strides in helping small businesses.
City administrators said early estimates show the city’s budget is expected to take a dip by $39 million for the rest of this fiscal year and through the next year, compared to previous predictions.
In response to the looming downturn, the city rolled out a plan to offer small business loans. More than 100 business owners were told Friday they’re getting loans from the city of Fresno’s “Save our Small Business” program.
About $750,000 was available immediately, and city officials said they hope to add another $1.5 million in funding to do another round of loans and grants.
The loans have been tough to reach for Hmong, Punjabi and Spanish speakers, advocates say.
Other counties
Another three people have died in Tulare County after testing positive for the coronavirus, officials said Friday.
Close to a dozen deaths have been reported in the county this week. Twenty-eight people have died there from coronavirus-related illness since the outbreak began.
Tulare County Health and Human Service confirmed the deaths in its daily update online, along with 19 news cases of the virus. This brings the county’s total number of cases to 472. Another 536 people are under self-quarantine and being monitored by health officials.
Merced County had 102 confirmed cases, adding two on Friday, according to officials. Three people have died and 61 have recovered.
Neither Madera nor Kings counties reported new numbers from Thursday.
Madera County added no new cases Friday. Thirty-nine cases have been reported, one person has died and 27 have recovered.
Kings County had 35 positive cases as of Friday evening. One person has died and nine have recovered.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 4:01 PM.
