Page 15 - Mid Valley Times 6-18-20 E-edition

VIGIL
Continued from page A1
No actual candles were lit because of high winds sweeping through the region. Instead, the crowd turned on the flashlights portions of their smartphones, hold- ing them up to provide small beacons of light as dust settled.
Stewart admitted she was scared to come up to speak, but said she real- ized that Floyd and oth- ers who lost their lives were scared, too. She then fought back tears, saying "I'm here to be a voice for them, because their voices no longer will be heard."
Currently an essen- tial worker in the medi- cal field who is study- ing to become a special education and elemen- tary education teacher, Stewart said that keep- ing the Black Lives Mat- ter movement moving ahead is important, even in the midst of the CO- VID-19 pandemic.
"We have been going through the racial pan- demic for way too long, and it's time to end," she
said. "Three hundred- plus years of oppression, we are fighting against systemic racism and things which are all a factor in the oppression targeted to the black community."
Naylor, pastor at Reedley Community Christian Fellowship, praised Stewart for her bravery in "standing up sharing this story that is not easy to hear." He suggested that people should take a deep breath and a step back in their emotions.
"Our role is to listen right now. Our role is to hear," he said. "And it's not a new voice. It's a voice that's been cry- ing our for hundreds of years, that far too many of us have been deaf to. It's our job to be uncom- fortable."
After the peaceful vigil, many in atten- dance went up to a "com- mitment wall" set up by local chalk artist Andrea Gruen. There, people at- tached their names and contact information to participate in education, advocacy, volunteering or prayer.
ABOVE: Attendees at the candlelight vigil for George Floyd on June 12 held up their lighted cellphones. Because of strong winds that day, participants used their cellphones in place of candles.
LEFT: Vigil attendees signed a commitment wall after the event, choosing to sign up for educa- tion, advocacy, volunteering or prayer. The vigil drew a crowd of more than 150 people to hear guest speakers Maya Stewart and Pastor Matt Naylor of Reedley Community Christian Fel- lowship. Also speaking was Miriam Cardenas Aleman, Reedley police chaplain and women's ministry coordinator at LIFEhouse Valley Church in Reedley.
Photos by Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
COVID-19 update
COVID-19 Continued from page A1
rently are active cases. A total of 155 people have died (98 in Tulare County and 57 in Fres- no County), although a breakdown of deaths in the three cities isn't available.
The good news is that nearly half the docu- mented cases have re- covered; 1,896 in Tulare County and 810 in Fres- no County. Tulare Coun- ty's 804 active cases is a reduction of an early spike, while Fresno's 1,921 active cases is a steady increase.
Of the 2,788 cases in Fresno County, 274 have been hospitalized. While just 46 patients are hos- pitalized in Tulare Coun- ty, 409 confirmed COV- ID patients remain hos- pitalized in skilled nurs- ing facilities. A large number of the county's deaths have come from
a relative few nursing facilities.
While COVID num- bers have continued to increase, businesses in Fresno and Tulare coun- ties continue to reopen. Among the most recent are gyms, movie theaters, hotels and regionally, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.
As of 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, there had been 2,788 total confirmed cases (1,921 active) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) in Fresno County, with 57 deaths. Among Mid Valley Times cities, Sanger (including the region to the northeast) had the most total positive cases with 221 while Reedley had 159 cases. Parlier had 122 cases and Orange Cove had 115 cases. Del Rey was at 19 cases while Fowler had 23 cases. The county reported that 810 of the positive cases had recovered.
In Tulare County, there were 2,798 total confirmed cases (804 active) of COVID-19 with 98 deaths as of 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. Breakdowns by cities/regions now are available, with 425 total cases in Dinuba, 107 in Orosi, 66 in Cutler, 14 in the Traver area and less than 11 each in rural areas south of Reedley and east of Orange Cove.
A total of 1,896 people had recovered from the virus in Tulare County.
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