Fresno County to get new COVID-19 testing site, 8th death was a nursing home resident
Fresno County public health officials announced an eighth COVID-19 death on Friday – an 86-year-old woman who was a nursing home resident – along with a new coronavirus testing site planned to open at Fresno City College next week.
Fresno County also added an additional 51 coronavirus cases, bringing the county’s total cases up to 615 on Friday evening. Of those, more than 100 were hospitalized and 18 were in intensive care units.
Throughout the central San Joaquin Valley, more than 80 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed each day this week between Fresno, Tulare, Kings, Madera, Merced and Mariposa counties.
8th death a nursing home resident
The 86-year-old woman died from coronavirus at an area hospital.
Dr. Rais Vohra, interim health officer with the Fresno County Department of Public Health, didn’t share what hospital or what nursing home she previously resided in, citing privacy concerns. In response to a question Friday during the county’s regular late-afternoon Zoom conference, Vohra said he wasn’t sure whether any previous COVID-19 deaths in the county were nursing home residents.
Fresno County COVID-19 nursing home cases surfaced this week for the first time. There have been more than 20 coronavirus cases between four Fresno County skilled nursing facilities.
Nursing homes in neighboring Tulare County have reported more than two dozen COVID-19 deaths and over 265 cases. Tulare County health officials didn’t provide new numbers for these facilities on Friday.
Nursing home residents in California make up at least 40% of COVID-19 deaths in the state, making these facilities the deadliest hotspots in the coronavirus pandemic.
Fresno County health officials said they are working with nursing homes to help.
“I’m very worried,” Vohra said Friday. “This is something we’ve experienced around the state, around the country. … We’re spending a lot of time investigating to prevent further cases from spreading. … This virus is tremendously unforgiving in that older population.”
Fresno City College new COVID-19 test site
Vohra was joined with Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes and Fresno City College President Carole Goldsmith to announce the new coronavirus testing site planned to open next week at the community college.
They partnered with OptumServe, Vohra said, which estimates it eventually will be able to do up to 132 COVID-19 tests a day at the now-closed gymnasium at Weldon and College avenues. The company assured the county it has enough swabs and personal protective equipment to do these tests.
The tests will be by appointment only, officials said. More details about how to get an appointment will be released next week. Goldsmith said for those without health insurance, the state can pay for a test.
There have been at least 7,400 coronavirus tests done in Fresno County so far. Health officials want to test up to 1,500 people a day.
Vohra is calling upon hospitals and medical providers to report COVID-19 test numbers to the county. He hopes to have better numbers soon. His best estimate this week was 500 to 700 COVID-19 tests were being conducted a day, countywide.
Vohra said Fresno County is also expected to get more staff soon to help with “contact tracing” – individuals who investigate coronavirus cases and notify people who may have been in contact with an infected person. There are 30 to 50 staff members currently doing this work in Fresno County, Vohra said.
Other good news Friday: Vohra said the antiviral drug Remdesivir is now more available outside clinical trials for IV use in hospitals for those with more serious coronavirus symptoms.
Stay-at-home order extended
In response to a question, Vohra said he’s “very hopeful” the city’s extended shelter-in-place order through May 31, announced by Fresno Mayor Lee Brand on Friday morning, will help keep residents safer.
The order allows some Fresno businesses to reopen before May 31. The announcement came a few days after Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out a four-stage reopening plan for California.
Vohra reiterated that businesses should continue to consider how to safely reopen when the time comes. He shared some additional information about that earlier this week, and said more guidance from his office is coming.
Fresno County Public Health Director Dave Pomaville is on Brand’s Fresno Recovery Advisory Committee.
Vohra said “we all have the same goal” and that “we need to all keep communicating about how to reopen things safely.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 7:31 PM.
