‘Challenging phase’: Fresno County doctors fight COVID surge, public pandemic fatigue
Fresno County health officials are trying to fight a level of burnout among residents, asking them to stick to a number of safety measures as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to linger.
Meanwhile, new cases continued to surge locally, with 326 new cases reported Monday. That’s 109,382 total COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic began.
By comparison, there were 418 new cases in Fresno County on Sunday. There have been 1,753 fatal cases of COVID-19 in the county.
There are 337 people in a hospital bed in Fresno County who have tested positive or are suspected of having COVID. Fifty-six are in an intensive care unit bed, leaving 15 ICU beds available, according to state numbers.
Health officials continue to recommend the same prevention methods they have been preaching to the public for months: wearing masks, getting vaccinated and social distancing.
Those practices may have become tiresome to some, but officials like Fresno County interim Health Officer Rais Vohra say they are paramount as the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads quickly and endangers new groups, like young people.
“Our community’s fight against this disease has entered a challenging phase, but we can all be safer by working together,” Vohra said in a statement.
“Multiple layers of prevention strategies all play an important role in helping us reduce illness and suffering, keep our economy and schools open, and maintain a high level of care delivery within our health care system.”
The health department is also encouraging limited exposure to others, reductions in unnecessary errands and isolation for those showing symptoms.
A relatively new guideline relates to misinformation about inoculations.
“Be a sophisticated consumer of news and follow the science, listen to the experts who have dedicated their lives and careers to helping improve the health of the public,” the health department said in its latest guidelines.
The idea is that each guideline offers a layer of protection for those who follow them.
Health officials agree that vaccines are safe and protect recipients from COVID. Even in the cases where the virus breaks through, the symptoms are mild and the chance that a patient would need attention at a hospital greatly decreases.
People who are vaccinated are also less likely to spread the virus to someone who is vulnerable but for whatever reason can’t themselves be inoculated. Children younger than 12 have not been OK’d to get a vaccine and could contract the virus.
About 49% of Fresno County residents have at least one of the shots needed for vaccines, according to the county. Madera County reports an even higher rate at 52.1% with at least one shot.
Merced County has reported 32.2% of its residents are fully vaccinated, and Tulare County says 35% there finished the vaccine regimen.
Other Valley cases
Tulare County tallied 95 new cases on Monday, according to state numbers, bringing the total to 52,046. No new deaths were added to the 856.
Merced County has seen 33,305 cases and 481 deaths from when the pandemic began until Monday. That’s 71 more cases than the day before with no change in deaths.
Kings County did not report any new deaths, leaving the total at 254. Eighty-nine new cases pushed that total to 24,736.
Madera County’s 17,714 total cases on Monday were 23 more than the previous day. The total number of deaths remained at 246.
Mariposa County has seen 636 cases and seven deaths.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 1:21 PM.
