Fresno County surpassed 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, April 28, as the Fresno County Department of Public Health reported 23 additional cases.
The new cases bring Fresno County’s total to 521, with 262 cases in Fresno. Sanger surpassed Clovis in cases, with 39 confirmed cases. Clovis remains at 38. Selma, Parlier and Mendota have at least 20 cases each.
According to the FCDPH, 221 of the cases were community spread or originated from an unknown source, 44 were travel related, 193 were spread by close contact and 63 are still under investigation.
The virus has killed seven people in Fresno County.
Of the total amount of confirmed infected patients, 189 have recovered, accounting for about 36 percent. A total of 97 people have been hospitalized with the disease since the outbreak began, 78 of whom were still in the hospital as of April 27. There are currently 325 active cases.
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand announced April 28 that the city is reclassifying pet groomers as essential businesses. The announcement arrives almost a week after the City of Clovis said it would allow pet groomers to reopen.
Gov. Gavin Newsom outlined California’s plan to reopen on April 28. He did not give a specific date for when the state’s stay-at-home order would end, but said the order would be relaxed “in a few weeks.”
The state order is currently set to expire May 3, though different cities have varying dates for when their local orders will end. Fresno’s is set to expire May 6. Clovis is following the state’s order “until further notice.”
Newsom said California will move into stage two of its plan to reopen the economy within the coming weeks. Stage two involves the reopening of retail businesses, manufacturing, childcare and low-risk offices. Newsom also suggested that schools would reopen around late July or early August.
He added that people should expect a vastly different environment when returning to work, as social distancing measures are expected to continue until a vaccine is available.
“We are not going back to the way things were until we get to immunity or a vaccine,” Newsom said. “We will base reopening plans on facts and data, not on ideology. Not what we want. Not what we hope.”
The third phase, which includes the reopening of businesses such as gyms, spas, salons and sports without live audiences, as well as religious services, is still “months, not weeks, away,” the governor said.
Stage four, the last stage, will see the end of the stay-at-home-order and the reopening of “the highest risk parts of our economy,” Newsom said, though it is not known when that stage will come.
According to the California Department of public health, there were 45,031 cases of COVID-19 in California as of Tuesday evening, with 1,579 cases reported in the 24 hour prior. Deaths stand at 1,809 total.