After a weekend surge in COVID-19 cases in Fresno County, where does the risk level stand?
A weekend surge of coronavirus infections at state prisons in Kings County, coupled with hundreds of new cases reported in Fresno County, sent the central San Joaquin Valley lurching to more than 75,000 total cases since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
The California Department of Public Health reported Monday there were 122 new confirmed cases of the virus in Fresno County. That comes after a weekend in which 222 additional cases were reported Saturday by the state, followed by 219 more confirmed infections Sunday.
The past three days of reports represent a jolt of 545 cases in Fresno County, pushing the total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the county since March to more than 32,600. Of those, 454 have died from the disease.
Fresno County has experienced an average of more than 143 new cases per day over the past seven days..
In neighboring Kings County, where almost 300 new cases surfaced over Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the cumulative number of people infected has now surpassed 9,000.
And in Merced County, the case count since March grew to more than 10,000, following a report Monday by county health officials that another 158 new infections were added since Friday.
Fresno County, along with Merced and Kings counties, remains in Tier 2 of California’s four-tier, color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” that weekly assesses each of the state’s 58 counties for risk of transmitting the virus in the community.
The blueprint governs the degree to which various business sectors can reopen or expand operations from broad restrictions put in place in the spring to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Tier 2 is color-coded red to represent “substantial” risk of viral spread. Fresno County graduated from purple Tier 1 — the most restrictive level — in late September. Since that time, some of the most notable limitations have been relaxed:
- Restaurants that were previously allowed to only offer take-out, delivery or outdoor dining have been able to resume indoor dining service at up to 25% capacity.
- Churches and houses of worship, which had been barred from indoor services, can have services at up to 25% capacity.
- Gyms and health clubs can operate indoors at up to 10% capacity.
The state’s next tier update is expected on Tuesday.
Fresno County, which last week met both of the state’s key criteria of fewer than seven new cases per 100,000 residents and less than 8% of residents testing positive for the virus over the course of a week, is likely to remain in the red tier for at least one more week, according the state’s blueprint guidelines.
If a county misses one or or both of those measures for two consecutive weeks, however, it can be demoted back to purple Tier 1.
Around the Valley
Monday COVID-19 updates from counties across the central San Joaquin Valley include:
Fresno County: 122 new cases reported Monday by the state Department of Public Health, 563 since Friday, and 32,619 to date; no additional cases Monday, 454 to date. The Fresno County Department of Public Health only updates its death totals on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Kings County: 81 new cases Monday, in addition to 211 reported over the weekend, 9,070 to date; no additional deaths, 87 to date. Of Kings County’s cases, 4,201 are among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 57 new cases over the weekend and Monday, 5,306 to date; no additional deaths, 76 to date.
Mariposa County: Seven new cases over the weekend, 88 to date; no additional deaths, two to date.
Merced County: 158 new cases over the weekend and Monday; 10,140 to date; no additional deaths, 164 to date.
Tulare County: 117 new cases over the weekend, 18,429 to date; two additional deaths, 299 to date.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 2:39 PM.
