Coronavirus hospitalizations creep higher in Fresno County. Here’s the latest case data
More people are being treated for confirmed and suspected COVID-19 infections in Fresno County hospitals than at any time in more than a month.
As of Tuesday, 114 patients with confirmed coronavirus cases were in hospitals across the county, including 24 with symptoms serious enough to land them in intensive-care units. Another 20 patients suspected of having COVID-19 but whose cases were not yet confirmed by testing brought the total in hospitals Tuesday to 134.
On Wednesday, an additional 68 confirmed coronavirus infections were reported from testing in Fresno County, as central San Joaquin Valley counties updated their overall totals of cases and fatalities since the first infections in the region were confirmed in early March.
To date, more than 70,000 residents in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties have at some point tested positive for the virus, whether they showed symptoms of the respiratory disease or not. More than 1,020 people have succumbed to COVID-19.
Fresno County’s coronavirus-patient counts in hospitals are the highest since mid-September, and up from 100 confirmed hospitalized cases, and 117 total, on Monday.
Across the six-county Valley region, confirmed COVID-19 patients in hospitals numbered 175 on Tuesday, including 32 in intensive-care units, according to the California Department of Public Health. That’s also the highest regional total since Sept. 18, more than a month ago. Forty additional patients suspected of having the disease were also being treated in Valley hospitals Tuesday.
By county, hospitalizations Tuesday numbered:
- Fresno County: 114 confirmed patients, including 24 in ICUs; 20 suspected cases, including one in an ICU.
- Kings County: 22 confirmed patients, including two in ICUs; no suspected cases.
- Madera County: Six confirmed cases, including one in an ICU; eight suspected cases, none in ICUs.
- Mariposa County: Two confirmed cases, no suspected cases.
- Merced County: Seven confirmed cases, including three in ICUs; no suspected cases.
- Tulare County: 26 confirmed cases, including two in ICUs; 10 suspected cases, none in ICUs.
Hospitalizations are considered a lagging indicator of how the novel coronavirus is spreading in a county, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.
“Even though we want to support all of the communities that have enough hospital capacity to take care of not only COVID patients and flu patients, but all the other needs that hospitals thankfully take care of on a day-to-day basis,” Ghaly told reporters during a Tuesday news conference, “we know that if case numbers themselves are going up, we can predict that in three to four weeks we can see hospital numbers going up.”
In late September, Ghaly said, state officials were estimating an 89% increase in hospitalizations in California based on transmission patterns at that time.
“Thankfully, through our hard work and continued look at cases, our testing, our isolation, our contact tracing, we have avoided those high projected numbers,” he said. “But we do show even today, with our cases and our hospital trends, we predict a 46% increase a month from now.”
“It’s still an area of concern and why we continue to push the different advice and risk-reducing that we talk about on a continual basis,” Ghaly added, referring to wearing face coverings, social distancing, avoiding large gatherings and frequent hand washing.
Across the Valley
Wednesday’s updates of COVID-19 infections and fatalities from Valley counties included 162 new cases and four additional deaths:
Fresno County: 68 new cases Wednesday, 30,220 to date; no additional deaths, 430 to date. The Fresno County Department of Public Health only updates its count of fatalities on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Kings County: Nine new cases, 8,164 to date; no additional deaths, 83 to date. Kings County includes more than 3,630 infections among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: Eight new cases, 4,928 to date; no additional deaths, 73 to date.
Mariposa County: No new cases, 78 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 29 new cases, 9,415 to date; one additional death, 154 to date..
Tulare County: 438 new cases, 17,365 to date; three additional deaths, 282 to date.
