More than 3,000 cases; more than 2,200 recoveries

Statewide order to wear face coverings now in effect

There have now been more than 3,000 people in Tulare County who have tested positive for COVID-19.

But while the number of cases in Tulare County continues to rise, the number of recoveries also continue to rise and is now at more than 2,200 in the county.

Tulare County Health and Human Services reported on Thursday the total number of COVID-19 cases in the county is now 3,004. That’s an increase of 123 over the 2,881 that was reported on Wednesday. The number of cases has been consistently increasing by 100 or more over the past few days.

The department reported an increase of 154 recoveries. There are now 2,236 people in Tulare County who have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19, up from the 2,082 that was reported on Wednesday.

The department reported one more death on Thursday after it reported there were eight more deaths on Wednesday. There have now been 107 people who have died to COVID-19 in Tulare County.

The number of active cases in Tulare County also continues to come down as that number was 661 on Thursday.

The number of hospitalization in Tulare County due to COVID-19 is 49. Of those 49, 11 are in intensive care. The number of confirmed cases in nursing homes in Tulare County is 415.

The department has reported there have been about 300 cases in Southeastern Tulare County, including 50 cases in Pixley, 17 cases in Tipton and 13 cases in Terra Bella. The official tally for Lindsay is 156 cases.

There has been 455 cases in Tulare and 458 cases in Dinuba. The number of cases in Strathmore has increased to 31.

There have been 76 cases in Earlimart, 11 cases in Richgrove, six cases in foothill-mountain communities, 36 cases in Exeter, 12 cases in Goshen, 15 cases in Traver, 11 cases in the Reedley area, 126 cases in Orosi, 31 cases in Woodlake and 11 cases in Orange Cove.

There have been 314 cases ages 0-17, 419 ages 18-25, 720 ages 26-40, 997 ages 41-64 and 554 ages 65 and older.

Forty cases have been reported as travel-related, 1,427 are due to person-to-person contact and 1,537 are under investigation.

The number of people in Tulare County under self-quarantine and being monitored by public health officials has remained stable at 985.

As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sierra View Medical Center reported it has 61 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 10 inpatient COVID-19 cases. Sierra View has had 13 deaths due to COVID-19.

As of Wednesday the hospital has had 1,691 tests conducted while there have been 7,385 tests conducted at the

County testing lab.

The doubling time in Tulare County — the amount of days it would take for the number of cases to double — has come down to 24.7 days as of Wednesday. The doubling time was more than 32 days a couple of days ago. A doubling time of 24.7 days means the curve of cases in the county is still relatively flat.

With a population of about 470,000 people, Tulare County has nearly 6.2 cases per 1,000 or .62 percent.

Governor Gavin Newsom is considering a statewide requirement for everyone in the state to wear face coverings while in public places. Officials in several counties stated Newsom is considering the statewide order.

As more public places are opening in California, the number of COVID-19 cases in some area of the state has also begun to rise again. With that in mind, a requirement to wear face coverings is being considered.

Tulare County has essentially stopped short of requirement the public to wear face coverings, but has strongly recommended people wear face coverings and also calls for public places and places of business to place signs stating customers should wear face coverings.

Other areas of the country have required the public to wear face coverings. But there have been cases in which customers were so angry about the requirement, the safety of employees was jeopardized and the requirement to wear face coverings was lifted.

Governor Gavin Newsom has just issued a statewide order requiring everyone in California to wear face coverings in public places.

The order goes into effect today, meaning people in public places are now supposed to wear face coverings.

The order requires people to wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces. The order requires people to wear face coverings while taking a taxi and using ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, when taking public transit, when standing in line to enter a building or in common areas such as hallways, stairways, elevators and parking garages.

People who work in buildings visited by the public must also wear face coverings even when nobody is there. Those who work in locations where food is prepared and packaged must also wear a face covering.

Face coverings will also be required outdoors when people can’t maintain a distance of six feet.

“We are seeing too many people with faces uncovered – putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” said Newsom in a statement on why he’s issuing the order.

“Science shows that face coverings and masks work,” Newsom added in a written statement. “They are critical to keeping those who are around you safe, keeping businesses open and restarting our economy.”

Children under age 2 and those with medical conditions and developmental disabilities also won’t have to wear face coverings. Those who are hearing impaired also don’t have to wear masks when communication with other people and those communicating with them can also remove their face masks.

People will also be allowed to remove their masks at restaurants. Masks also won’t be required for people exercising outdoors.

Several counties in California issued their own guidelines requiring people to wear face coverings only to rescind them after receiving backlash.

Dinuba Tulareworks office closed

One public employee at the Dinuba Tulareworks and Child Welfare Services District Office, located at 1066 North Alta Avenue in Dinuba, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The employee began to show symptoms and notified a supervisor.

The Agency has closed the location for cleaning and is notifying all members of its workforce with whom the infected employee may have had potential contact.

This is the second time the Dinuba District Office location has closed due to COVID-19. On May 14, the location fully closed because an employee tested positive. The office was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, allowing employees to return to work on June 1, following proper protocols.

It’s not unexpected employees will become ill as COVID-19 continues spreading throughout the community. The HHSA has protocols in place to address this and similar situations involving employees who become ill. These protocols include: asking employees to stay home if they show any symptoms, reporting any symptoms that develop during working hours, asking nonessential employees to work from home, maintaining sufficient social distancing in the workplace, and consistently using extensive hygiene and cleaning practices.

With the Dinuba District Office expected to be temporarily closed, those needing services through Tulareworks can call the call center at 1-800-540-6880. Anyone needing services through Child Welfare Services can call (559) 623-0500.

No other information can be release about the affected employee. For more information about COVID-19, visit www.tchhsa.org/ncov and www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov

STATEWIDE ORDER TO WEAR FACE COVERINGS NOW IN EFFECT