Fresno County adds 351 new cases of coronavirus. Barber shops, Fashion Fair mall reopen
Fresno County added 351 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday since the last update two days prior, according to state health officials.
The county has now seen 24,963 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The total number of deaths tallied through Monday did not change from the 263 already reported.
Fresno County has seen more coronavirus-related deaths than others in the six-county region, including Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare Counties.
August will end with an official death toll close to 13,000 in California, and with Gov. Gavin Newsom late last week unveiling a new “blueprint” to assess counties’ risk levels and determine what can and can’t be open in various parts of the state. The month started with a glitch that over-counted cases, but that has since been corrected, according to state officials.
The statewide rate of new infections, as well as the percentage of diagnostic tests returning positive, declined between July and mid-August, though the all-time total for lab-confirmed cases has crept to 700,000, reaching 704,085 as of a Monday morning update from state health officials.
Some shops, mall re-open
Fresno-area shop owners allowed to open Monday under the latest guidance from Newsom expressed frustrations they were ever made to close in the first place — saying it’s likely they won’t make up for lost revenue.
Salons and barbershops were among the latest businesses allowed to reopen under new safety guidelines in so-called “purple counties” — the strictest tier in a new color-coded system amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Other businesses that have been closed were allowed to reopen on Monday with modifications, including retail shopping malls — if they operate at 25% capacity.
Fashion Fair opened with a new stricter cleaning regiment, according to Brian Malony, senior manager of marketing.
Other Valley cases
Tulare County reported 195 new cases on Monday, bringing the total to 14,039. The county has seen 232 deaths related to COVID-19.
Merced County on Monday said two more patients died related to the coronavirus, which brings the total there to 117. The county passed 8,000 cases after adding 142 cases, bringing the total to 8,032.
Madera County tallied 109 new cases but no new deaths, which brings the totals to 3,783 and 54, respectively.
Mariposa County has counted 71 cases and two deaths through Wednesday, but has not reported since.
Kings County tallied another 56 cases to bring the total to 6,340. No new deaths left that total unchanged at 72.
Avenal State Prison had a spike in coronavirus cases over the past two weeks.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported 273 cases at Avenal and another 35 cases in Corcoran State Prison in the past 14 days. The total number in Avenal has increased to 1,878 and 353 in Corcoran.
Both prisons are in Kings County.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 4:27 PM.
