In the past week, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered bars, restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses to close their indoor operations in 19 California counties—five of which are here in the San Joaquin Valley. But as we’ve learned with this rapidly-evolving situation, that’s not all that’s changed in the last week. For a closer look at what’s been happening in our seven-county coverage area of the Valley, we bring you this update for the week of June 26-July 3, 2020. Meanwhile, you can always find up-to-date information for your county here.
The outlook:
- As of July 2: 339 deaths out of 19,586 cases.
- As of June 25: 292 deaths out of 15,371 cases.
- In the last week, 47 people in our coverage area succumbed to the disease. In the week before, the total was 42.
- New daily case reports continue to climb, and hospital beds are slowly filling up.
- Health officers across the state are issuing cautions for the July 4 weekend: keep gatherings small, stay outside when possible, observe social distancing and wear masks.
- In an attempt to make local virus data more digestible, the Harvard Global Health Institute has introduced a new data tool: a map of the U.S. with counties color-coded according to risk level. Most counties in our region are orange (the second-highest level after red), while a few are yellow.
Also in this interview, we discuss what the governor’s order to close bars and some indoor businesses means for the Valley and what we know so far about how the virus is spreading locally. We also look at outbreaks within Fresno and Tulare County jails, the outlook at Avenal State Prison, and why Merced County was the fifth Valley county to be added to the State of California’s list for targeted monitoring.
