Two Fresno universities prepare for return to campus after weeks of distance learning
Fresno State and Fresno Pacific University students return campus classrooms on Monday after spending the first month of the Spring semester learning remotely to slow the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.
Fresno State spokesperson Lisa Boyles Bell on Thursday confirmed the university’s plan to reopen classrooms beginning Monday.
Fresno Pacific University announced its plans to return in a news release Thursday, citing a recent decline in daily infections as evidence that it’s safer now for students and staffers to return to campus.
“We believe the trends are going in the right direction and remain committed to the highest quality Christian higher education with in-person instruction,” President Joseph Jones said in the statement.
Fresno Pacific will resume hosting sporting events with safety protocols in place, including capping attendance at fewer than 100 people.
Students will have access to “grab-and-go” food service at the main campus dining hall.
Masks will be required for anyone on campus.
Fresno State also requires masks on campus, which they can provide to students and staff. Additionally, all Fresno State students are also required to have their COVID-19 vaccination and booster shot.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, students who come on campus are required to wear a mask. The college provides surgical and KN95 masks for free for students and employees.
Fresno State is also enforcing a mask mandate to all people on campus to stop the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 Cases in California’s Central Valley
Although COVID-19 numbers have dipped, Fresno County hospitals continue to be pushed to their limits due to the virus.
On Monday, hospitals across Fresno County collectively had 601 patients in their beds with confirmed COVID-19 infections, including 98 who were sick enough to require treatment in intensive-care units. Those numbers were down only slightly from late last week, The Bee previously reported.
As of Tuesday, inpatient treatment in hospitals across Fresno County was 607, according to data from the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
This is 24% higher than the 489 patients in hospitals as of Jan. 18.
The volume of coronavirus patients over the past week has been higher than any point since January 2021, when the region was starting to emerge from a surge in which hospitals in Fresno County peaked at 660 patients.
Health officials attribute most of the COVID-19 cases to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The daily average rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in Fresno County as of Tuesday, Feb. 2, was about 182 cases.
While that is the lowest rate since Jan. 16, it is still higher than any point between December 2020 and Jan. 16, 2022.