Fresno County adds almost 500 new cases on record-setting day for state COVID-19 tally
Fresno County added 442 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, reaching a total of 11,412 infections since the start of the pandemic, according to numbers reported by the state.
Wednesday was at least the fifth-straight day Fresno County reported more than 300 cases.
With no new deaths reported on Wednesday, Fresno County remained at 104 fatal cases since March, the state Department of Public Health reported. At least 2,706 local patients have recovered from the virus.
More than 413,500 Californians — about 1 in 96 state residents — have been infected by the coronavirus. Of those, 7,870 have died as of Wednesday morning.
More Californians are now in the hospital than at any other time during the pandemic. Nearly 7,200 people statewide are in a hospital bed with COVID-19, and about 29% of those hospitalized patients are receiving intensive care, according to state public health data released Wednesday morning.
California reported a record-setting 12,807 new cases in one day on Wednesday. The growth in infections across the state prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce sweeping shutdowns on businesses and schools last week to slow the record-breaking number of infections and hospitalizations.
The central San Joaquin Valley has seen 114 deaths in July, passing the June peak of 112.
State restrictions
Newsom has ramped up statewide restrictions on economic activity in recent weeks, shutting down bars, indoor dining and entertainment centers in all counties and requiring counties on his watch list — which covers over 80% of California’s population — to close malls, gyms and indoor church worship.
While that list once included hair and nail salons, the governor — facing criticism from salon owners — released new guidelines on Monday that allow those businesses to operate outdoors.
Other Valley counties
Numbers reported Wednesday put the central San Joaquin Valley past 27,000 cases and up to 360 deaths.
Tulare County added 483 positive cases on Wednesday for a total of 7,603 since the beginning of the pandemic. Zero new deaths were reported in the county that’s seen 168.
Merced County reported four more deaths on Wednesday, which brings the total to 26. The number of cases reached 2,994, which is 181 more than the previous day.
Madera County tallied 1,530 cases in its Wednesday report, an increase of 91 cases. Three more deaths pushed the total to 16.
Mariposa County made no changes to the 41 cases and sole death there.
Kings County added three deaths to reach 45 total. Another 135 new cases makes the total 3,600.
More than 3.9 million people in the country have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to The COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University CSSE. Of those cases, 142,595 have been fatal.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
