Fresno County’s Public Health Department announced a county-wide mask recommendation this week that takes effect Friday. Officials say it’s one more layer of protection as the county starts to reopen. At a media update Wednesday afternoon, Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra compared wearing masks to using speed bumps, helmets, …
Read More »Fresno County To Open Dine-In Restaurants, City To End Shelter In Place
With state approval, dine-in restaurants can now reopen in Fresno County , as long as measures like social distancing and employee face coverings are used. This comes just after the city of Fresno announced an end to its shelter-in-place order, starting Tuesday. Fresno Mayor Lee Brand said the decision to …
Read More »Small Farmers In Fresno County Discuss The Challenges Of Operating During A Pandemic
Small farms are at the heart of the San Joaquin Valley’s rich agricultural industry, but the challenges facing these operations are numerous. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock checked-in with three Fresno County farmers about the most recent obstacle they are facing: COVID-19. She spoke with grape and raisin farmer Steven …
Read More »Working In The ICU During A Pandemic: A Tulare County Doctor Weighs In
Tulare County has one of the highest COVID-19 death rates in California due in part to outbreaks in nursing homes – and the county just voted to reopen businesses before meeting health benchmarks set by the state. FM89’s Alice Daniel spoke with Dr. Harjoth Malli, medical director of Critical Care …
Read More »Kings County COVID-19 Spike Is Due To Meat Packing Facility in Hanford
Rural Kings County has seen a large spike in COVID-19 cases over the last two weeks. The majority of those cases can be traced back to the Central Valley Meat Company in Hanford. As of Wednesday, Kings County reported 211 cases of the coronavirus; 138 of them are connected to …
Read More »Fresno County Public Health Town Hall Addressed Testing Availability, COVID-19 In Winter
In lieu of its regular media briefing Friday, the Fresno County Department of Public Health held a virtual town hall where community members could submit their own questions about the coronavirus. The meeting was live-streamed on Facebook. One person asked via the comments how to get a test if they’re …
Read More »Nearly Half Of Tulare County COVID-19 Cases Due To Nursing Home Outbreaks
The majority of the 25 Coronavirus deaths in Tulare County are due to an outbreak at a Visalia nursing home. In fact, nearly half of the county’s 441 COVID-19 cases are nursing home related. Out of 174 COVID-19 cases, Redwood Springs Healthcare Center has seen at least 16 patient deaths. …
Read More »Fresno County Partners With Fresno State To Analyze COVID-19 Tests
The Fresno County Public Health lab was damaged in a flood back in 2019, so the county was sending its potential COVID-19 specimen to Tulare County’s Public Health Lab for analysis. But a partnership with Fresno State now means Fresno County will be able to process tests locally. Standing outside …
Read More »Kern County Sheriff’s Staff And Inmates Test Positive For COVID-19
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announced on Tuesday a dozen cases of COVID-19 among staff and inmates in the county jail. That’s why the county is now releasing some inmates without bail. Sheriff Youngblood announced on F acebook the judicial council is requiring the release of some inmates with low …
Read More »Kern County Parks Still Open, But Local Officials Say ‘Stay Home’ Easter Weekend
Fresno , Kings and Tulare counties have closed their parks to keep people home during the coronavirus pandemic. But Kern County parks are still technically open and with Easter coming up, some residents are worried. A release from the Kern County Public Health Department states that park facilities and amenities, …
Read More »Fresno County School Districts Close Temporarily Amid Coronavirus Concerns
Three Valley districts have made the decision to close their schools starting Monday until April 13: Fresno, Clovis and Central Unified. They’re the latest across the state to announce a blanket closure of schools due to coronavirus concerns. In a press conference Friday, Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson said preserving …
Read More »Fresno County Declares A Local Emergency After Confirming Second COVID-19 Case
Fresno County confirmed a second case of COVID-19 Saturday evening. Both cases identified so far have been travel-related. In a press conference Sunday, a county health official said the department is also monitoring up to 70 individuals, to track symptoms. While the risk of community transmission is still low, the …
Read More »New Valley Fever Run In Taft Brings Disease Awareness To Rural Kern County
Preliminary state data suggest nearly 8,700 Californians were diagnosed with valley fever in 2019, which would be a record high. The state’s highest case rate is consistently reported in Kern County where, this past weekend, one rural town held its first race to raise disease awareness. Around 50 or so …
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