Page 16 - Mid Valley Times 3-18-21 E-edition

RED TIER Continued from page A1
cent. In addition, gyms and fitness centers can reopen to indoor work- outs with modifications while movie theaters can resume indoor viewings with maximum capacity of 25 percent or 100 peo- ple, whatever is fewer.
Fresno County will remain in the purple tier status for at least another week because the county rate for posi- tive new infections per 100,000 was at 11.9; still above the 8 level but the closest it's been in months. Hospitalizations continued to decline, dropping to 144 from 159 at the start of the week.
Despite still being in purple, Fresno County residents received one added benefit during the week as effective March 13, wineries, breweries and distilleries in the region are allowing out- door service with modi- fications including lim- ited hours, a 90-minute time limit, reservations and seating/tables only.
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or attending any of the partici- pating committee meetings.
There are eight participat- ing boards and committees contributing to the process of drafting the Measure C Re- newal, all of which are open to the public with agendas and public notices posted online at www.MeasureC.com.
Participating committees include: Measure C Renewal Executive Committee; Mea- sure C Renewal Technical
Thursday, March 18, 2021 | A16 | Mid Valley TiMes COVID-19 update
As of the most recent update on Tuesday, March 16, there had been 97,520 confirmed cases (3.9 percent positive rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) out of 1,029,341 tests in Fresno County, with 1,535 deaths and 144 hospitalizations.
deaths. Del Rey was at 300 cases (900 in region) while Fowler had 1,244 cases (977 in the city) and 14 deaths through March 16. The region that includes Squaw Valley, Dunlap and Miramonte had 311 total cases on the new data surveillance website through March 16. The county announced that it will not list recoveries at this time to reallocate staff for new cases.
Among Mid Valley Times cities in the county through March 16 (Fresno County's new dashboard surveillance is providing precise updates for regions rather than cities), the Sanger region continued with the most total overall positive cases with 6,052 (4,300 in the city proper) and 53 deaths according to the FCDPH website. Through the March 16 update, Reedley (including immediate surrounding rural areas) still was showing 4,411 cases (3,400 in the city proper) and 61 deaths; Parlier was listed at 2,957 (2,400 regional) cases with 33 deaths and Orange Cove had 1,500 (2,813 regional) cases and 12
In Tulare County, there were 48,604 total confirmed cases (689 active, down 149 for the week) of COVID-19 with 787 deaths and 37 hospitalized as of Tuesday, March 16. Breakdowns by cities/regions through March 16 show 4,145 cases (50 in the past three weeks) in Dinuba, 1,453 in Orosi, 745 in Cutler, 262 in Traver, 59 in the rural area south of Reedley and 22 in the rural area southeast of Orange Cove.
Sanger Fire Department / Photo Contributed
The Sanger Fire Department and city of Sanger staff part- ners with Walgreens to host a free COVID-19 vaccination event on March 13 at the Sanger Community Center. Starting this week, the Community Center will be the site of vaccinations for Fresno County residents.
More good news was that while active posi- tive case numbers were continuing to drop, the amount of people vacci- nated were climbing at an increased rate. As of March 15, 262,364 people had received at least one COVID vaccine shot in Fresno County while
Tulare County saw an increase of more than 17,000 vaccinations for the week, to 79,446.
Fresno County resi- dents received another group site to get COVID vaccinations in the Sanger Community Center (see accompanying story). Ar- ea veterans, meanwhile,
could schedule getting their vaccinations at the Fresno VA facility.
Schools and school districts in the region continued steps to an eventual return to on- campus learning, in par- ticular some waiting for Fresno County to exit the purple tier.
Working Group; Fresno COG Regional Transportation Plan Roundtable; Measure C Citi- zen Oversight Committee; Fresno COG Transportation Technical Committee; Fresno COG Policy Advisory Commit- tee; Fresno COG Policy Board; and the Fresno County Trans- portation Authority Board.
While all committees work together and are devoted to the process of finalizing a ful- ly-vetted draft of the Measure C Renewal Plan, two specific committees were assembled for the effort – the Measure C
Renewal Executive Commit- tee; and the Measure C Renew- al Technical Working Group.
The Measure C Renewal Executive Committee com- prises community leaders rep- resenting a wide cross-section of agencies, businesses and interest groups. Committee members will represent their particular industries, agencies, or groups, but will also have overall insight of the transpor- tation needs in Fresno County.
The Technical Working Group includes public agency staff, advocacy groups and
modal advocates. By design, the Technical Working Group provides representation from Fresno County and each of its 15 cities. The group will be working in parallel with Fres- no COG’s Regional Transporta- tion Plan Roundtable, and will be evaluating transportation needs, current funding sources, and funding gaps by mode. This input and insight is the crux of the Measure C drafting process – with its recommendations be- ing assessed and reflected in the draft expenditure plan.
Public involvement will
continue throughout the en- tire drafting process, includ- ing a formal public review and comment period as the plan is presented to the 15 City Coun- cils in Fresno County and the Fresno County Board of Super- visors. And again, when the fi- nal Renewal Plan is presented for review and approval by the Fresno COG Policy Board and the Fresno County Transpor- tation Authority Board, along with a Fresno County Board of Supervisors hearing to place the Measure C Renewal on the November 2022 Ballot.
A total of 47,173 people (97 percent) in Tulare County were listed as recovered as of March 16.
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city and the Fresno County Department of Public Health (FCPDH) began with a soft opening on March 16, although a vaccination event also was held at the Commu- nity Center site on March 13. There, Sanger Fire Department officials as- sisted with traffic.
"Fresno County is striving to expand ac- cess to COVID-19 vacci- nations in all communi- ties. The addition of this new site will help make
that a reality,” David Po- maville, FCDPH Direc- tor, said in a March 16 news release.
The department said that Sanger Community Center COVID-19 vac- cination clinics will ac- cept appointments for the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesdays through Sat- urdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents who are currently eligible can schedule their appoint- ment online via MyTurn.
Residents who do not have internet access can call MyTurn at 1 (833) 422-4255.
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