During a livestreamed address earlier this week, California Health & Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly dropped a bombshell: that the state infectious disease database known as CalREDIE, where labs report testing data and county public health departments extract local numbers, has been undercounting new cases.
At the same time, as the coronavirus has continued to spread, we’ve been hearing reports of hospitals nearing their capacities for both regular and ICU beds. So what happens when they fill up?
This week’s COVID-19 update features excerpts from conversations with Carrie Monteiro, spokesperson for the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency, about the alternate care site in Porterville that is now treating overflow COVID-19 patients from area hospitals, as well as Mariposa County Health Officer Dr. Eric Sergienko about his county’s low case count and the role of tourism in the outbreak.
A snapshot for Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare Counties (note that some numbers may have changed between the interview and publication):
- As of August 6: 675 deaths out of 60,344 cases; 846 people hospitalized and 178 in ICUs
- As of July 30: 573 deaths out of 52,249 cases; 886 people hospitalized and 186 in ICUs
- In the last week, 102 people in our coverage area succumbed to the disease. In the week before, the total was 87.
- Average cases reported daily in the last week: 1,156
- You can always find up-to-date information for your county here.
