Fresno County reports 276 new cases of COVID. More groups can get a vaccine
Another death and 276 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday in Fresno County, according to health officials.
Fresno County stands at 97,461 cases since the pandemic began a year ago, according to state numbers. The number of deaths is now 1,535, according to local numbers.
The seven-day average for new daily cases in Fresno County is 11.8 per 100,000 residents, which is much higher than the state average of 1.9 per 100,000 people.
The county needs to get down to under 10 per 100,000 before it can be considered to move from the purple tier to the red.
Health officials in the county have administered 254,936 doses of the vaccine, according to the state.
California has 3,528,795 confirmed cases to date, according to the California Department of Health. There were 2,460 newly recorded cases through Sunday.
There have been 55,330 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Providers have administered 12,172,948 vaccine doses statewide, CDPH said.
More people can get shots. Supply still low
Californians ages 16 to 64 with severe obesity, who are pregnant or who have a number of other medical conditions or disabilities are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. But supply issues may hinder your chances of getting a shot right away.
Officials said they expect demand to greatly outpace supply.
Kaiser Permanente, the biggest health care provider in the state and in the Sacramento region, is moving forward with vaccination appointments for people in the high-risk 16-64 group, but warned the going could be slow.
The state as of now has opened vaccinations to a wide group of people, including teachers, farm workers and other essential workers, as well as anyone older than 65. Additionally, state guidelines on vaccine eligibility were recently updated to include public transit workers, janitors, homeless people and a few other classifications.
The changes represent some of the broadest expansions yet of the state and local vaccination programs — and also present some of the biggest logistical problems.
Other county updates
Tulare County reported 54 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, the first report since Friday. The total number of cases there is 48,604 since the pandemic began. The total number of deaths remained unchanged at 784.
Merced County tallied two new deaths and 276 new cases since Friday. The totals are now 423 and 29,940, respectively.
Kings County totaled 22,380 cases on Monday, which is 27 more than the last update on Saturday. A new death pushed the total to 236.
Madera County reported 15,804 cases on Monday, which is 43 more than the previous day, according to state numbers. The local numbers have not been updated as of 5:45 p.m. Monday, leaving the death toll at 222.
Mariposa County has seen 396 cases and seven deaths.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this story.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 6:34 PM.
