COVID-19 claims another two dozen lives, latest Fresno-area counties updates show
The novel coronavirus was blamed Tuesday for the deaths of at least 24 additional people across the central San Joaquin Valley, including 19 in Fresno County, according to the latest updates provided by the counties’ health departments.
In Fresno County, where health officials last updated its data on fatalities on Friday, 19 more deaths were reported on Tuesday afternoon. That pushed the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fresno County since March to 157 victims.
Earlier in the day, Tulare County reported four additional deaths, pushing the total number of lives lost there to 193.
Overall, the total number of coronavirus infections confirmed by testing since the first cases were reported in the region in early March rose by about 190 between Monday and Tuesday in Fresno County, to a new total of 15,945.
The increases in cases and deaths come on the same day that the California Department of Health Services acknowledged that its automated data reporting system was suffering from technical issues that was causing undercounting of COVID-19 cases statewide.
Valleywide, the number of cases has now climbed to more than 37,000.
On Monday, based on the state’s data, Fresno County posted that its cumulative total through Sunday night was 15,759 cases. On Tuesday, the county’s updated dashboard reflected 15,550 cases, but another portion of the website indicated 15,945 cases, the same number as reported by the state..
Simranjit Dhillon, a spokesperson for the county health department, said the discrepancy may be due to a backlog in the ability of the county’s epidemiology staff to ensure that there is no duplication in the testing results, as well as other differences in how the county and state compile the data.
Fresno County changed its data-reporting schedule several weeks ago, providing its own figures on Tuesdays and Fridays. On the other days of the week, the county relies on and reports figures from the state’s data system. Health officials have noted that the numbers pulled from the state on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays “may show a slight discrepancy” from the county’s data.
Dhillon added that the differences are not related to the state’s data technology problems.
Elsewhere around the Valley:
Kings County: The county reported that it was experiencing technical issues and delays with the state’s data system. The county’s COVID-19 website had not been updated since Sunday night, when it reported 4,453 cases, including 1,662 connected with state prisons in Kings County, and 56 deaths.
Madera County: 39 new cases on Tuesday, 2,114 to date; no additional deaths, 32 to date.
Mariposa County: one new case on Tuesday, 59 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 161 new cases on Tuesday, 4,583 to date; one additional death, 51 to date.
Tulare County: 245 new cases on Tuesday, 9.900 to date; four new deaths, 193 to date.
This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
