Number of active cases continues to decline

County health issues statement on schools as day camps

The numbers when it comes to COVID-19 in Tulare County continue to be encouraging.

Tulare County Health and Human Services reported on Friday the number of recoveries far outnumbered the number of new cases it reported, leading to another considerable decline in the number of active cases.

The department reported there are now 12,007 people in Tulare County who have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19, an increase of 225 over the previous day. The department reported 95 new cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases that have occurred in Tulare County to 13,117.

But the number of people who now have COVID-19 declined by 132 and is now back below 1,000 at 900.

The department did report two more deaths on Friday, bringing the total of deaths in Tulare County to 210. The state model projects Tulare County to have 362 deaths by September 20.

Another encouraging sign is Tulare County’s R number which projects how fast the virus will spread continues to drop. Tulare County’s R number is down to .93. That number still represents that Tulare County’s rate of increase of the virus is “likely stable,” meaning the rate of cases is expected to continue to increase at its current rate.

The number .93 represents the average number of people expected to be infected by one infected person.

The department also reported the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tulare County continues to decline and is now down to 60.

As of Friday, Sierra View Medical Center reported it had 17 COVID-19 hospitalizations and two patients suspected of COVID-19. Sierra View has had 36 deaths due to COVID-19.

The hospital reported seven of its 10 ICU beds were in use and four of its 19 ventilators were in use. Sierra View reported it has two employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 37 employees who have recovered. Sierra View also reported it has had 270 positive tests.

Visalia’s Kaweah Delta Hospital continued to report a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations.on Friday the hospital reported it had 40 COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The hospital reported it has 67 employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 255 employees who have recovered.

Kaweah Delta reported eight of its 55 ventilators were in use. Kaweah Delta also reported it has had 3,558 positive tests.

There have been 2090 cases in the Porterville area, 128 cases in Terra Bella, 559 cases in Lindsay, 173 cases in Strathmore, 35 cases in foothill-mountain communities, 115 cases in Richgrove, 553 cases in Earlimart, 259 cases in Pixley, 78 cases in Tipton, 1,972 cases in Tulare, 1,510 cases in Dinuba, 42 cases in Goshen, 73 cases in Traver, 209 cases in Woodlake, 272 cases in Cutler, 499 cases in Orosi, 11 case in the Reedley area, 11 cases in Orange Cove, 244 cases un Exeter, 367 cases in Farmersville and 143 cases in Ivanhoe.

In Visalia there have been 1,616 cases in one region, 930 cases in another region and 1,078 cases in a third region.

There have been 68 cases reported as travelrelated, 4,315 cases due to person-to-person contact and 8,734 cases under investigation.

There have been 1,748 cases ages 0-17, 2,068 cases ages 18-25, 3,767 cases ages 26-40, 4,120 cases ages 41-64 and 1,405 cases ages 65 and older.

There have been 7,379 cases who have been Hispanic, 1,232 who have been Caucasian, 205 who have been Asian, 49 who have been African-american, 24 who have been Native American, 225 who have been multi-race and 4,003 are unknown.

There are 411 people in Tulare County who are under self-quarantine and being monitored by public health officials.

There are 579 confirmed COVID-19 nursing home patients in Tulare County.

Tulare County’s doubling time — the amount of days it would take for cases to double — continues to gradually go up, indicating a flattening of the curve of cases. As of Thursday, Tulare County’s doubling time is 52.1 days.

With a population of about 470,000 people, Tulare County has had an overall rate of of 2.76 cases per 100 residents, or 2.76 percent.

SCHOOLS AS DAY CAMPS

Tulare County Public Health issued a statement on Friday it’s aware of local schools operating as day camps to provide instruction to children on-site under California Department of Public Health guidelines.

Among the schools who have chosen to operate as a day camp is Visalia’s Central Valley Christian High School.

“Although, under current guidance this is allowed in the State of California, Tulare County Public Health does not have any regulatory authority or oversight of Day Camps, and therefore cannot approve or deny a school from operating as such,” the department released in a statement.

But the department added: “Due to the current epidemiological data reporting high case transmission and positivity rates in Tulare County, Public Health Officials are concerned and discourage any effort to congregate children from multiple households as it poses a risk of significant spread of COVID-19.

“We are in communications with local school officials and encouraging the practice of distance learning as much as possible until COVID-19 case rates decline. Ensuring the health and safety of children, teachers, staff, and all of their families is our top priority.”

California Department of Public Health guidelines for day camps can be found here: https:// files.covid19.ca.gov/pdf/ guidance-daycamps.pdf

Elementary schools can apply for a waiver to begin in-person instruction in Tulare County. But instruction is allowed only for grades TK-6 and only when Tulare County meets the threshold of having 200 cases per 100,000 over a 14-day period.

At the Tulare County Board of Supervisors meeting, Tulare County Health and Human Services Director stated that number had come down to 360.4 cases per 100,000 in Tulare County.