About 350 people who may have been exposed to the new coronavirus are being monitored in Fresno County, health officials said Wednesday.
David Pomaville, the county’s health director, revealed the number during a media conference call on Wednesday afternoon.
In addition, officials said one additional case of COVID-19 has been confirmed, which brings Fresno County’s total number of known infections to 19. One of the confirmed patients has been cleared.
“We’re actually investigating several of those cases to figure out exactly what the route of transmission is,” said Dr. Rais Vorha, Fresno County Health Officer. “We’re expecting that some of those cases will be related to travel. But others may be related to community transmission,” he said.

Confirmed Cases Rise to 19 in Fresno County

Of the 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Fresno County, six were determined to be travel-related and two resulted from person-to-person contact. The mode of transmission for the remaining 11 has not been determined.

The larger group of 350 individuals being monitored by the health department have been isolated, Pomaville said, but they have not all been tested for COVID-19.
“We monitor them for a 14-day period. We check in with them on a very regular basis and if they become symptomatic then we have them tested.”
“Since the beginning of this, we’ve been spending a lot of time tracking people who had travel history to areas of early outbreaks and were not caught in the quarantines that the federal government put on restrictions with travel,” Pomaville said.
The department has monitored a total of about 670 people for COVID-19 symptoms. About 320 have since been cleared, he noted.

Vorha: ‘We are In for Some Ominous Times’

On Tuesday, Vohra warned that “the clouds are gathering and we’re in for some ominous times” as local case counts increase. On Wednesday’s media call, he urged the public to continue observing orders and guidelines to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.
“The concern is real,” Vohra said. He praised the efforts that have been undertaken so far, but said there’s “room for improvement.”
He reiterated the importance of social distancing, hand hygiene, and self-isolating if symptoms develop.
“The danger is that if we have uncontrolled transmissions, it’s going to be very hard to stop this epidemic,” Vohra said.
“We really want to alert everyone to the real danger that we face if we don’t start taking precautions now and planning for what is to come, if our healthcare capacity gets overwhelmed.”
You can find the latest Fresno County coronavirus information at this link.

Reports from Other Counties

Tulare County Has 18 Positive Tests

The public health department reported one more positive COVID-19 test Wednesday morning, bringing the county’s total to 18. One hundred-and-thirty-five residents are under self-quarantine.
Updates are available at the county’s coronavirus website.

Kern County

Public health reports 16 positive COVID-19 tests. Officials say there have been 221 negative tests and the results of 341 tests are pending. Four returning travelers are undergoing monitoring.
The Kern County coronavirus page is at this link.

Kings County

There are no confirmed cases through Wednesday morning. The public health department has received 66 negative COVID-19 results. No one is being monitored.
The county asks anyone with coronavirus questions to call 559 584-1401 and press 6.
Kings County’s coronavirus page is at this link.

Madera County

There are six confirmed cases. One person who tested positive has recovered and is no longer in isolation.
Madera County coronavirus information is at this link.

Mariposa County

There are no confirmed cases in Mariposa County. Officials report 28 people tested with 15 negatives. The results of 13 people are pending.
The county’s latest coronavirus information is at this link.

Merced County

Public health officials confirmed a second case of coronavirus on Wednesday morning.
“The individual contracted the virus out of the county and was not community-acquired,” county public health said in a news release. The person is recovering at home while self-isolating.
This is the link to Merced County coronavirus updates.

Stanislaus County

The county now has 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases.  The latest coronavirus information is at this link.