Page 15 - Mid Valley Times 12-10-20 E-edition

Thursday, December 10, 2020
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Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
The outdoor dining "parklet" area for Valentino's Italian Restaurant in downtown Reed- ley sat empty on Dec. 8, more than a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom instituted a stay at home mandate that banned all outdoor dining for three weeks.
COVID
Continued from page A1
Still, the stay at home order is yet another dev- astating body blow to smaller businesses strug- gling to make ends meet. In addition to the many closures, the public is advised not to travel and attend or host any large gatherings, even at home.
In Reedley, the park- lets that have been built throughout downtown to help those eateries pro- vide outdoor seating for customers. Still there were some customers who were using the ta- bles to enjoy a breakfast or lunch. For the most part, restaurants only are allowed to provide takeout orders or de- liveries in line with the state guidelines.
The stay at home order kicked in when regions hit below 15 percent of available in- tensive care unit beds. All these numbers con- tinued to rise during the week, with 2,500 more overall positive cas- es reported in Fresno County. While the num- ber of cases hadn't been as large — 14,811, up less than 300 — the ac- tive case and individual community numbers had not been updated since Friday morning, Dec. 11.Asof9p.m.Dec.8, the county's data and surveillance dashboard still reported numbers "not fully configured."
COVID cases were hitting hard in regional cities. At the Dec. 11 special meeting of the Reedley City Council, City Manager Nicole
Zieba reported that there had been out- breaks at the Palm Vil- lage Retirement Center independent living facil- ity (more than 10 cases) and at the Reedley Men- nonite Brethren Church (more than 10 cases).
"What we're seeing is, these multiple cases can be traced back to in- dividual sources," Zieba said. "So I would remind the public to not gather, to wash hands, to wear masks."
Sanger remained the top Mid Valley Times city in the county with active cases at 602, while Reedley had 583 active or under investigation as
of Dec. 11. Parlier was at 458 while Orange Cove had 264 active cases.
The numbers contin- ued to be disturbingly high in Tulare County, which has never been able to exit the purple tier status. Active cases in just one week spiked from 1,783 to 3,185, and there were 782 new ac- tive cases reported on Dec. 8 compared to a day earlier. Dinuba had 2,353 cases, 270 in the past three weeks.
Newsom's stay at home order is initially scheduled to last three weeks, but could be ex- tended if cases continue to trend upward.
COVID-19 update
As of the most recent update on Tuesday, Dec. 15, there had been 41,098 confirmed cases (14,811 active) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) out of 483,020 tests (8.5 percent) in Fresno County, with 514 deaths and 520 currently hospitalized.
Rey was at 150 cases while Fowler had 351 cases. Squaw Valley and Dunlap had 31 and six total positive cases, respectively. The county reported that 25,439 of the positive cases (61.9 percent)hadrecovered.
Among Mid Valley Times cities in the county through Dec.10 (nunbers had not been updated as of 9 p.m. Dec. 15), Sanger has the most total overall positive cases with 1,786 (602 active or under investigation) while Reedley is at 1,686 cases (583 active or under investigation); Parlier was listed with 1,385 cases (458) and Orange Cove had 783 cases (264). Del
In Tulare County, there were 23,662 total confirmed cases (3,185 active) of COVID-19 with 319 deaths and 128 hospitalized as of midday on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Breakdowns by cities/regions show 2,353 cases in Dinuba, 804 in Orosi, 447 in Cutler, 128 in Traver, 21 in the rural area south of Reedley and six in the rural area southeast of Orange Cove.
A total of 20,158 people (85.2 percent) had recovered from the virus in Tulare County.
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Best Restaraunt:
Mexican ______________________ Mediterranean _________________ Chinese _______________________ Japanese ______________________ Italian ________________________ Lunch ________________________ Pizza _________________________ Sandwich______________________
Best Coffee Shop __________________ Best Ice Cream/Yogurt _____________ Best Burger ______________________ Best Sushi _______________________ Best Server/Waitress _______________
(Name & Establishment) ________________________________
Best Daycare _____________________ Best Grocery Store ________________ Best Hardware Store _______________ Best Florist ______________________ Best Gift Shop or Boutique __________ ________________________________ Best Bank _______________________ Best Hair Salon ___________________ Best Hair Stylist___________________
(Name & Salon) ________________________________
Best Nail Salon ___________________
Best Nail Tech ____________________ (Name & Salon)
________________________________ Best Shoe Store ___________________ ________________________________ Best Barber ______________________
(Name & Shop) ________________________________
Best Fitness Center ________________ Best Tire Shop ____________________
Best Auto Shop ___________________
Best Mechanic ____________________ (Name & Shop)
________________________________
Best Car Salesperson_______________ (Name & Shop)
________________________________ Best Air Conditioning & Heating Repair __________________________ ________________________________ Best Insurance Agency _____________ Best Insurance Agent ______________
(Name & Agency) ________________________________
Best Mortgage Company____________ Best Real Estate Office______________ Best Real Estate Agent______________
(Name & Agency) ________________________________
Best Thrift Store __________________ Best Pharmacy ___________________ Best Pharmacist___________________
(Name & Establishment) ________________________________
Best Funeral Chapel _______________ Best Dentist______________________ Best Optical Service _______________ Best Retirement Community ________ ________________________________ Best Veterinary Clinic ______________ ________________________________
FINANCIAL AID Continued from page A1
Dec. 4, the city leaders unanimously approved two items: to establish tem- porary business assistance program for restaurants and gymnasiums and churches for modifications made to their premises for outdoor operations — also providing utility forgiveness to salons and barber shops again forced to close — and to allocate $45,000 in general fund money from 2020 Coro- navirus Air, Relief and Economic Se- curity (CARES) Act funding from the county of Fresno to provide this as- sistance.
Reedley is taking the action to pro- vide additional funding, despite the fact it fully allocated its local CARES Act allocation of more than $320,000. The reason why the city decided to provide additional assistance is that early to mid-year sales tax receipts to the general fund have been stronger than anticipated. In the resolution's executive summary on fiscal impact, it said that sufficient funding now is available to cover a portion of city payroll expenses for pubic safety em- ployees whose services are substan- tially dedicated to mitigating or re-
sponding to COVID-19.
Paul Melikian, assistant city man-
ager, told the council that this funding would allow for most of restaurants, along with gyms and churches, to make adjustments to provide outdoor only activities in line with the state's mandated guidelines. Starting on Dec. 7, hair and nail salons and barber shops again were forced to close for three weeks as part of the county stay at home order.
All council members asked about options for businesses or churches that could be added to the initials reso- lution specifically listing restaurants and gyms/fitness centers. Council member Mary Fast made the motion for the first resolution while adding the reimbursement to church as well as salons in the form of utility for- giveness during closure. With a sec- ond from Mayor Frank Pinon, the first portion of the resolution was passed.
After further discussion and mo- tion/second from Council Members Bob Beck and Anita Betancourt, items B with the $45,000 appropria- tion passed on a unanimous vote. Each business will be allowed up to $1,500 in financial assistance during these latest closures and state crackdowns.
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