Grim milestone: More than 400 deaths from COVID-19 in Fresno and neighboring counties
Fresno County experienced its biggest one-day increase in confirmed coronavirus infections on Wednesday, as the number of people who have tested positive for the virus lurched upward by nearly 600.
And across the central San Joaquin Valley, a grim milestone was reached as the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 climbed to more than 400. Madera and Merced counties collectively reported that COVID-19 claimed 11 more lives – five in Madera County, six in Merced County. Kings County also reported one additional death Wednesday evening.
That brings the death toll from the virus to 409 in the six-county region, which includes Fresno, Tulare, Madera, Merced, Kings and Mariposa counties.
Fresno hits new daily record for infections
According to data released Wednesday by the state Department of Public Health, Fresno County now has reported a total of 13,933 COVID-19 patients since the first local cases in the global pandemic were reported March 6.
That figure, representing cases through Tuesday evening, is an increase of 597 from county health officials announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The previous mark for the largest daily increase was on July 6, following the Independence Day weekend, when the county reported 489 new cases. No new deaths were reported. To date, 120 Fresno County residents have succumbed to coronavirus disease.
Over the past two weeks, an average of more than 356 new cases have been reported each day in Fresno County.
The county counts more than 9,300 of its cumulative cases as active, compared with fewer than 3,900 recovered.
Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim health officer, has said that Fresno County’s tally of recovered cases is lagging because the health department does not have enough people to conduct the needed contact tracing and other follow-up to officially clear cases from “active” to “recovered” status.
The latest figures come as California prepares to deploy three “unified response teams” or “strike teams” of multiple state agencies across eight San Joaquin Valley counties that have been identified as hot spots for increased transmission of the virus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, speaking in Stockton on Monday, announced the formation of the teams in an effort to work with local health officials “to get a handle on what’s happening in the Central Valley,” Ghaly said.
Ghaly and Newsom generally described the roles of the teams as similar to efforts in Imperial County, a largely rural county along California’s border with Mexico that experienced a surge in cases and deaths this summer.
But neither the secretary nor the governor provided details in their announcement about the specific tasks or roles that the strike teams would fulfill in the eight targeted counties, from San Joaquin County in the north to Tulare and Kings counties in the south..
Brian Ferguson, a spokesman with the state Office of Emergency Services, said Wednesday that plans are being developed and that the makeup of the teams will be based “what are the gaps that need to be filled” on a county-by-county basis.”
Ferguson said state officials were meeting Wednesday afternoon to evaluate “what the specific needs are for a particular county and then staffing to meet that.”
The teams would likely include staffing from the state Department of Social Services relative to housing for people who test positive for COVID-19.
Teams would include people from the California Department of Food and Agriculture to handle issues related to vulnerable farmworker communities. They would also address employers — such as meat plants and produce packinghouses — where workers are facing exposure to the virus.
The teams could be on the ground in the Valley by early next week, Ferguson added.
Around the Valley
The Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency reported early Wednesday that its total case count now exceeds 9,000. The addition of 214 new cases boosted the total number of confirmed infections in the county to 9,076. No new deaths were reported in Tulare County in Wednesday’s update, leaving the number of fatalities attributed to COVID-19 at 173.
Tulare County counts 2,680 of its cases as active, compared to 6,223 recovered.
In other Valley counties:
Madera County: nine new cases Wednesday, 1,850 to date; five additional deaths, 28 to date; 850 active cases, 972 recovered.
Merced County: 112 new cases, 3,875 to date; six additional deaths, 35 to date; 1,615 active cases, 2,225 recovered.
Mariposa County: no new cases, 51 to date; no new deaths, 2 deaths to date; 12 active cases, 37 recovered.
Kings County: 70 new cases, 4.106 to date; one new death, 51 to date; 1,564 active cases, 2,491 recovered. Of Kings County’s cases, 1,420 are associated with state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Hospitalizations decline
While cases and deaths continue to increase, Valley hospitals saw some modest relief in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases being treated in their facilities.
In Fresno County, where the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 reached 311 late last week, cases retreated to 284 as of Tuesday, according to state health department data. The number of severely ill coronavirus patients being treated in intensive-case units, however, remained at 65, the same volume as Friday.
Across Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties, total hospitalizations of confirmed COVID-19 patients numbered 565 as of Tuesday, down from more than 600 late last week and through the weekend. Those include 114 ICU patients at Valley hospitals.
No-cost COVID-19 testing
United Health Centers will be hosting no-cost COVID-19 testing Friday and Saturday at Lion’s Park in central Fresno.
Tests will only be administered with an appointment. Appointments can be made at unitedhealthcenters.org or by calling 800-492-4227.
Face masks will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 4:58 PM.
