Coronavirus claims 3 more lives in Fresno County, 4 in Tulare County
Seven more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus were reported in the central San Joaquin Valley on Friday, pushing the number of people who have died from COVID-19 in the six-county region to more than 130 in less than three months.
Four deaths were revealed Friday in Tulare County, bringing the total there to 84, which remains one of the highest rates of coronavirus deaths in the state as a rate per 100,000 residents.
Three additional deaths in Fresno County pushed the number of patients who have succumbed to 35.
Across the central San Joaquin Valley, the number of people who have tested positive for infection with the coronavirus stands at nearly 4,700. Of those, 132 have died in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties. While nearly 2,000 patients are reported to have recovered from the virus, the region still has almost 2,500 active cases in which people are in isolation or quarantine and being monitored by county health officials.
Fresno’s update on Friday afternoon included 56 new cases, boosting its total to 1,714 since the first case was reported in early March. Tulare reported nine new cases Friday for a cumulative case count of 1,844. Merced County added three new cases to its total, which now stands at 283 with seven deaths.
Madera County added six cases on Friday afternoon, for a total that now stands at 104. Mariposa County held steady at 16 cases and one death as of Friday.
In an update Friday evening, Kings County reported 21 additional cases; the cumulative total there stands at 735 with three fatalities.
May has proven to be a far more deadly month for COVID-19 in the region than April, which was the first full month of the pandemic’s effect in the Valley. With a few days left in the month, the number of people who have died from coronavirus disease in the Valley counties stands at 79. In the entire month of April, 50 deaths were reported by county health officials.
The new deaths in the Valley come as California surpassed 4,000 fatalities from the pandemic and the total number of people who have tested positive in the state climbed above 106,000.
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
