Over 100 new COVID recoveries in Tulare County
The number of COVID-19 recoveries in Tulare County increased by more than 180 on Wednesday.
Tulare County Health and Human Services reported there have now been 2,082 COVID-19 recoveries in Tulare County. That’s an increase of 186 over the 1,896 that was reported on Tuesday.
The department reported eight new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the total of those who have died due to the coronavirus in Tulare County at 106.
The department reported an increase of 83 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total of confirmed positive cases in the county to 2,881. Of these 2,881 cases, 40 cases were reported as travel-related, 1,380 due to personto-person contact and 1,461 are under investigation.
There have been 291 cases ages 0-17, 409 cases ages 18-25, 693 cases ages 2640, 954 cases ages 41-64 and 534 cases ages 65 and older.
The number people in Tulare County under self-quarantine who are being monitored by public health officials remains about the same at 985.
The department reported there have been 73 cases in Earlimart, 11 cases in Richgrove, 41 cases in Pixley, 17 in Tipton, and 12 in Terra Bella.
There have been six cases in foothill-mountain communities, 29 cases in Strathmore, 34 cases in Exeter, 12 cases in Goshen, 15 cases in Traver, 31 cases in Woodlake, 11 cases in the Reedley area and 11 cases in Orange Cove.
Porterville area was reported to have 303 cases, Lindsay has 152 cases, Farmersville has 88 cases and Orosi has 121 cases.
The cities that seem to have been hit the hardest include Tulare with 433 confirmed cases, Dinuba with 448 cases and Visalia, which has 934 COVID-19 cases.
The department also reported that 46 individuals are currently being hospi
talized due to the virus, and 409 individuals who work or live in skilled nursing facilities have tested positive for the virus.
Tulare WORKS in Visalia closes temporarily
Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency announced on Wednesday the closure of Visalia Tulare-WORKs district office due to COVID-19. The Human Services Branch of the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) confirms that one public employee at the Visalia Tulare-WORKs District Office, located at 1845 N. Dinuba Blvd. in Visalia, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The employee began to show symptoms and notified a supervisor.
The County has instructed all employees during this time that they should not come to work if they show any symptoms of illness. 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. The Agency had begun to limit the number of employees working at each of its sites in March, which has limited exposure to other County employees. Additionally, public access to this office has been closed since March 23, 2020.
It is not unexpected that employees may 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 excellent hygiene and cleaning practices.
With the Visalia District Office expected to be temporarily closed, those needing services can contact the call center at 1-800-5406880.
The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is diligent about the protection of patient privacy, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and for this reason they cannot release any other information about the affected employee. The information released about the positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County is carefully curated to provide useful information to community members, while also excluding information that would lead to the identification of affected persons. This is a protection, provided by law, that is extended to everyone.
For more information about COVID-19, visit www.tchhsa.org/ncov and www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov