Curve in county is flattening 382 cases; people donating checks to food banks

It appears the curve of coronavirus cases in Tulare County is finally flattening.

For the second straight day there was a relatively small increase of COVID-19 cases in the county. The Tulare County Department of Health and Human Services reported on Friday there were 382 positive cases of the coronavirus in the county.

That was an increase of 10 of 372 reported on Thursday. The increase over the past two days has been 30 as there were 352 cases reported on Wednesday. That’s opposed to the increase of 56 from Tuesday to Wednesday that was reported.

The department also reported no new deaths due to the coronavirus, leaving the total at 17. Twenty-five cases were reported as travelers, 276 were reported as person-to-person contact and 81 are still under investigation.

Fifteen cases were ages 0-17, 36 were ages 18-25, 84 were ages 26-40, 106 were ages 41-64 and 141 were ages 65 and older.

The department reported 25 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered. There are 463 people in the county who are under self-quarantine and being monitored by public health officials.

The department reported there are 40 cases on the coronavirus in Lindsay and 22 in Porterville. There are 231 cases in Visalia, 45 in Tulare, 40 in the Dinuba, Kingsburg and Woodlake areas and three in Pixley.

The doubling rate in Tulare County

— which measures the amount of days it takes for coronavirus cases to double — increased to 6.2 from 4.9 on Thursday. The longer the doubling rate is an indicator the curve of coronavirus cases continues to be flattening. With an increase of 10 cases on Friday that double rate will continue to increases in Tulare County.

County officials stated they’re seeing a significant flattening of the curve and while they say the next few weeks could still be tough, they’re obviously encouraged.

The doubling rate is also increasing in California, up to 25 days on on Thursday. As of Thursday there were 28,109 coronavirus cases and 971 deaths due to COVID-19 in California.

As of Thursday, Fresno County reported 295 cases and a doubling rate of 6.6 days. The fastest doubling rate in the state is in Imperial County at five days.

Sierra View Medical Center is now reporting it has six inpatient coronavirus cases.

As of Friday night, Sierra View reported it had six inpatient cases and 15 patients who have tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital reported it has had 183 patients tested with 165 testing negative.

On Friday Tulare County reported it has completed 1,817 tests. Tulare County Health and Human Services has reported there are 22 positive cases of COVID-19 in Porterville.

PDC Update

The alternate COVID-19 care site at Porterville Developmental Center is on track to be completed by Wednesday, April 22 as scheduled. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers reported as of Friday the project was 75 percent completed. Construction on the facility began the week of April 6.

Six unoccupied buildings at PDC are being retrofitted to become the alternate care site. Each building will house 41 beds for a total of 246 beds. Cost of the project is $874,000 and being paid for by FEMA funds.

Donate Stimulus Check to Food Bank

Many people who have received their $1,200 check from the stimulus package who are still doing OK are donating those checks or a portion of those checks to food banks. Food Link of Tulare County continues to have a great need for donations. To donate to Food Link of Tulare County visit http://new. foodlinktc.org/home/

Layoff Assistance Webinar

A COVID-19 Layoff Assistance Webinar will be presented several times over the next few weeks. The webinar will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. April 21 and 28 and May 5, 12, 19 and 26. The webinar will cover such topics as filing for unemployment insurance, using assistance programs and what benefits and resources are available.

To register visit https://zoom.us/webinar/register/wn_glhtuwbrige0ny-happmw