Page 18 - Mid Valley Times 1-6-22 E-Edition

VIRUS
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It was much of the same in Tulare County, where the rate jumped from 4.7 to 9.6 percent, as active cases went from 857 people to 1,403. The death toll grew by 20 to 1,166, and hospi- talizations went up by 19 from 48 to 67. While recoveries continued, the recovery rate for the county dropped from 97.2 percent to 96.4 per- cent.
The Omicron variant continued to spread in the region, with 20 cas- es reported in Fresno County as of Jan. 4. That comes just two weeks af- ter the first case of the variant was reported in the county. In Tulare County, officials said during the week that three official Omicron variant cases were re- ported, and on Jan. 4 Madera County reported its first Omicron case.
Vaccination numbers
Thursday, January 6, 2022 | A18 | Mid Valley TiMes COVID-19 update
As of the Tuesday, Jan. 4 update, there were 152,674 total cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) out of 2,114,668 tests in Fresno County, with 2,379 deaths and 219 people hospitalized (44 in ICU).
(3,694 regional) cases and 20 deaths. Del Rey was at 426 cases (1,287 in region) while the Fowler region had 1,726 cases (1,500 in the city) and 29 deaths through Jan. 4. Squaw Valley (218 cases), Dunlap and Miramonte had a total case number of 590.
Among Mid Valley Times cities in the county through Jan. 4, the Reedley region continues with the most total overall positive cases with 9,744 (5,000 in the city proper) and 89 deaths in data on the Fresno County Department of Public Health website.
In Tulare County, there was a total of 72,455 confirmed cases (1,403 active, an increase of 600 for the week) of COVID-19 with 1,166 deaths and 67 people hospitalized (seven in ICU) as of Tuesday, Jan. 4. Breakdowns by cities/regions show 6,070 total cases in Dinuba, 2,039 in Orosi, 1,028 in Cutler, 383 in Traver, 129 in the rural area south of Reedley and 41 in the area southeast of Orange Cove.
Jon Earnest / Mid Valley Times
The crash scene at Floral Avenue (Avenue 432) and Por- ter Avenue northeast of Dinuba is a T intersection. A single vehicle accident in the early morning hours on Dec. 30 killed 8-year-old Jonathan Aparicio.
Through Jan. 4 with no recent updates, Sanger (including immediate surrounding rural areas) continued to show 9,556 cases (6,400 in the city) and 84 deaths; Parlier was at 3,500 cases (3,815 region) with 49 deaths and Orange Cove had 2,200
A total of 69,832 people (96.4 percent) in Tulare County were listed as recovered as of Tuesday, Jan. 4.
CRASH
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jured his mother, who faces felony driving under the influence charges.
Jonathan Aparicio sustained fatal injuries in the single-vehicle crash, which occurred shortly after 4:30 a.m. at the T intersection of Porter Avenue and Floral Avenue (Av- enue 432). His mother, 28-year-old Sabrina Eli- zondo of Orange Cove, was hospitalized with major injuries after being arrested at the scene.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Elizondo was driving a 2017 Honda Accord south on Por- ter Avenue at an unde- termined speed when she failed to stop for the posted stop sign at Floral. The Honda continued through the intersection across Floral, left the road- way and crashed into a large power trans-
mission pole owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Jonathan was trans- ported to Adventist Health Reedley, but succumbed to his in- juries. Elizondo was transported by ambu- lance to Community Regional Medical Cen- ter in Fresno with in- juries, and is expected to be charged with fel- ony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.
Jose Aparicio, John- ny's father, said in an interview with ABC 30 News that he drove four-plus hours from his work in Santa Rosa to come to the hospital. He said that Adventist Health was able to keep Jonathan for that time to allow Aparacio to see his son one last time.
The younger Apari- cio was a student at Sheridan Elementary School in Orange Cove. Although school doesn't resume until Monday, Jan. 10. emotional sup- port professionals are on campus this week.
were slowly rising in both Fresno and Tulare. In Fresno County's Jan. 4 update, 67.2 percent of residents ages 5 years and older had received at least one dose. Fig- ures showed that 568,952 residents had been fully vaccinated, and nearly
81,000 booster shots had been administered.
In Tulare County, 48.4 percent of eligible residents, 264,524 to be precise, had been fully vaccinated. Despite vaccinations, the county reported a sharp jump of nearly 500 active CO-
VID cases in a four-day period.
It's been more than two weeks since Fresno County provided individ- ual case incidence num- bers and actual number of cases. In Tulare County, Dinuba jumped by 61 to- tal cases for the week.
Fresno County expands testing for students
Contributed
The Fresno County Depart- ment of Public Health (FCDPH) is working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FC- SS) to ensure that all students are protected from COVID-19 and its variants as they return to school.
The FCDPH and the FCSS have expanded access to CO- VID-19 testing for students and are providing in-home rapid tests for every K-12 public school stu- dent. More than 160,000 kits are expected to be distributed over the next two weeks throughout
Fresno County. Parents and stu- dents are encouraged to contact their school district for more in- formation.
“Students belong in the class- room in front of a caring adult,” says Jim Yovino, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools. “Let’s keep students in school. I encour- age families to utilize the test kits available to them from their school district, as well as vaccinat- ing their children when eligible.”
Many symptoms of COVID-19 resemble those of a cold, flu, and allergies. Anyone experiencing congestion or a runny nose, the sniffles, sore throat, fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath
or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea should be tested for COVID-19 and stay home from work or school.
As of Jan. 3, Fresno County has increased to 20 Omicron cas- es. “More cases of Omicron are expected over the next few days as travelers return home and as students return to the classroom,” says Dr. Rais Vohra, Interim Health Officer. “Evidence sug- gests that Omicron spreads more rapidly than other variants, and an increase in cases may continue to overwhelm our Central Valley hospitals.”
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