Fresno County reports three new COVID deaths, total fatalities rise to 1,546

The state Department of Public Health and Fresno County health officials reported 89 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, pushing the total number of people who have had COVID-19 over the past year to 97,727. The county also reported three additional deaths, bringing the total lives lost to date to 1,546.

Hospitals in Fresno County were treating 154 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases. Since mid-December, when coronavirus vaccines became available, more than 285,000 doses have been administered to residents in Fresno County.

Fresno County remains in purple Tier 1 of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy — the most restrictive level of limitations on businesses in the color-coded program. Tier 1 denotes that “widespread” transmission of the virus is continuing in a county.

In other central San Joaquin Valley counties, Thursday updates included:

Kings County: 17 new cases, 22,441 to date; one additional death, 237 fatalities to date. More than 7,200 cases, and 17 deaths, have been among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.

Madera County: 32 new cases, 15,773 to date; no additional deaths, 226 fatalities to date. Almost 2,500 of the Madera County cases have been among inmates at state prisons near Chowchilla.

Mariposa County: No new cases, 400 to date; no additional deaths, seven fatalities to date.

Merced County: 60 new cases, 30,087 to date; three additional deaths, 428 fatalities to date.

Tulare County: 49 new cases, 48,740 to date; three additional deaths, 791 fatalities to date.

Valleywide, more than 215,000 people have had COVID-19 at some point over the past 12 months since the first local cases were identified. Of those, 3,235 people have died.