Fresno County adds 3 deaths and 474 cases of COVID-19, as schools weigh return to classes
Fresno County added another three deaths related to coronavirus on Tuesday, which also saw nearly 500 new positive cases.
With 474 new cases, Fresno County now has 8,756 positive cases since the start of the pandemic. The three deaths raise the total to 91 on Tuesday, the first update since Friday.
The county this week has taken to updating the count twice a week. Previously, heath officials updated the numbers at least five times a week.
Of the cases through Tuesday in Fresno, 2,183 people have recovered from COVID-19.
Monday was the first time the six-county region — Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare — passed the 20,000 cases mark. The region passed 21,000 on Tuesday.
The Valley has seen 60 deaths in the first half of July, putting it on pace to surpass the 112 that died in June.
A total of 427 people in the Valley have been hospitalized due to the virus through Monday, including 68 people placed in intensive care units, or an ICU.
Fifty confirmed and suspected patients with COVID-19 were in an ICU bed of the 252 confirmed and suspected patients in the hospital on Monday. Hospitals in Fresno County have a total of 1,229 licensed general acute-care beds plus 149 licensed intensive-care unit beds.
Schools may go digital
Fresno schools are considering keeping all classes online for the fall, but no decisions have been made.
Without a definitive statewide decision on whether schools should reopen their physical doors during the coronavirus outbreak this fall, each California district is pursuing its own path. Local officials are left balancing teachers unions concerns over members’ safety with the demands of some parents eager for their children to return to school.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday a statewide approach doesn’t work in a state with more than 1,000 districts serving more than six million children.
“Each district is unique and distinctive,” he said.
Around the Valley
Tulare County reported another death on Tuesday to bring the total to 153 since the beginning of the pandemic. There were 6,209 cases through Tuesday, which is 267 more than the day before.
Merced County reported 101 new cases, which makes the total 2,183 since the start of the pandemic in March. No new deaths were added Tuesday to the 12 seen in Merced County..
Madera County reached 1,003 cases on Tuesday, which is 40 more than the previous day. There was no change to the nine deaths.
Kings County reported 54 new cases but no new deaths for totals of 3,078 and 40, respectively. The county’s positive cases include 1,166 cases on Avenal and Corcoran state prisons, and 143 in nursing homes.
Mariposa County added one new case to bring the total to 34. One fatal case has been reported in Mariposa.
Almost 3.4 million people in the country have tested positive for the coronavirus, including 329,000 in California, according to The COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University CSSE. More than 7,000 people have died from it in the Golden State, and more than 136,000 nationally.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 3:49 PM.
