Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Prime Minister of Yemen’s Houthi Government Killed in Israeli Strike

2 days ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

3 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

3 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

3 days ago

Wall Street Falls as Dell, Nvidia Drive Tech Losses

3 days ago

US Denies Visas to Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly

3 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

4 days ago

Ford Recalls Nearly 500,000 Vehicles Over Brake Fluid Leak

4 days ago

Fresno-Bound Passenger Says Delta Attendant Slapped Him, Seeks $20M

4 days ago
'I'm Done With This BS System,' Owner Says as County Faces COVID Backslide
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
October 8, 2020

Share

Fresno County’s top health official is very concerned about the latest COVID-19 numbers he’s seeing. The county could be moved back into the state’s most restrictive “purple” tier for business operations as early as next week if the numbers don’t improve.

Places like movie theaters, houses of worship, and indoor dining could all be impacted as early as Friday of next week.

According to new state data, Fresno County now has a 5.3% test positivity rate (up from 4.8% last week), and 7.2 cases per 100,000 residents (up from 6.3 last week).

“This is killing the American dream we were taught to strive for! If you want to fine me, take my licenses, put me and my employees out of work….COME DO IT! I’m done with this BS system where the goal posts are changing daily.”Lewis Everk, Fresno restaurant owner

To stay in its current “red” tier, Fresno County numbers need to continue to have less than an 8% test positivity rate and reduce new cases per 100,000 residents to less than 7 over the next week.

‘Open Central California Safely’ Group

Lewis Everk, owner of Vyxn Restaurant & Lounge and creator of the Facebook group ‘Open Central California Safely’ shared a long post Thursday morning.

“How can we focus on providing for our families if we’re constantly being threatened by then next shutdown?,” Everk wrote. “This is killing the American dream we were taught to strive for! If you want to fine me, take my licenses, put me and my employees out of work….COME DO IT! I’m done with this BS system where the goal posts are changing daily.”

At the end of September, Everk talked with GV Wire℠ by phone. “We’re not going to support anyone going rogue and just opening up. We want to open and keep public safety on top of everyone’s mind,” Everk said at the time. He also said the new goal of the more than 20,000 members of his group is to make sure the county doesn’t close business again should it go back into the purple tier. He thinks such a move would be too costly and put some people out of business for good.

His Thursday morning post continued with Everk saying, “A heads up to the state agents who are living among us. You should be ashamed if you take action against any of our businesses who are barley keeping it together financially and mentally. We are your neighbors. Have a heart for your community.”

Fresno County Board of Supervisors

portrait of Nathan Magsig

“The county is working with the state and residents to keep businesses open.”Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig

“The county is working with the state and residents to keep businesses open,” Supervisor Nathan Magsig tells GV Wire℠ by text.

Supervisor Buddy Mendes tells GV Wire℠ by phone, “All I can say about that is it’s all speculation.”

If the county is moved back into the purple tier Mendes does not see the county using enforcement to close businesses back down.

“I think the Governor keeps trying to change the numbers just to keep everyone guessing. It’s all based on unregulated social behavior which can’t be controlled,” says Mendes.

Official portrait of Buddy Mendes

“I think the Governor keeps trying to change the numbers just to keep everyone guessing. It’s all based on unregulated social behavior which can’t be controlled.”Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes

Shasta County Fell Back to More Restrictive Tier

In Northern California, Shasta County learned the state is moving them from the orange tier back into red. Now, county officials are scrambling to alert businesses of the tighter restrictions that must be made this week.

“The change has to be made by Friday,” Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson Kerri Schuette tells GV Wire℠ over the phone.

Schuette says a couple of recent outbreaks at a skilled nursing facility and a school have had a dramatic and detrimental impact to the county’s COVID-19 numbers. According to KRCR-TV, 123 cases have been tied to the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Students at the Redding school travel from all over the world to study and often live together in homes throughout Shasta County. Health officials have indicated that college-aged adults like those that attend Bethel are behind increased infection rates

Another cluster was traced to Windsor Redding Care Center, where 60 cases have been attributed to the assisted living facility.

“Just two weeks ago our county had 2.2 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. Now, that number has increased to 12.2 cases per 100,000,” says Schuette.

She says the business community is very frustrated at having to open, then close, then open outdoors, and now potentially close again.

Schuette says, “Our Board of Supervisors meetings have been very lively for the past few months.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

DON'T MISS

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

DON'T MISS

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

DON'T MISS

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

DON'T MISS

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

DON'T MISS

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

DON'T MISS

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

UP NEXT

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

UP NEXT

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

UP NEXT

Visalia Semi Crash Injures Amazon Truck Driver After Red Light Collision

UP NEXT

A Goodbye Love Note to My Dog: Remembering My Best Friend Harriet

UP NEXT

California Schools Reverse Truancy Trends. Improving Reading Scores Could Be Next

UP NEXT

High-Speed Rail Hits a New Snag as Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Expedite Construction

UP NEXT

Fresno County Garnet Fire Expands to 17,561 Acres, 8% Contained

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Fresno Spotlight: Lawsuit in Killing of Homeless Man by Deputies Will Go to Trial

UP NEXT

Fresno County Needs Election Workers for November Redistricting Vote. Apply Now

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

17 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

18 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

18 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

18 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

18 hours ago

Labor Day Quiz: Do You Know What a Knocker-Upper Is?

18 hours ago

Bulldogs Check All the Boxes in Runaway Win Over Georgia Southern

1 day ago

Judge Blocks Pillar of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign

2 days ago

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

2 days ago

Visalia Driver Arrested for DUI After Multiple Crashes and Pedestrian Injured

2 days ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

A lightning-sparked wildfire, the Garnet Fire, in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres in Fresno County and remains at 8% cont...

17 hours ago

Photo: USDA - Forest Service Tanker 40 at Fresno Air Attack Base. The Fresno County Garnet Fire in the Sierra National Forest has burned 18,748 acres and is 8% contained as crews make progress on containment lines while bracing for possible thunderstorms early this week. (Sam Wu/USFS)
17 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Grows to 18,748 Acres in Sierra National Forest

U.S. flag and Judge gavel are seen in this illustration taken, August 6, 2024. (Reuters File)
17 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Deportations of Unaccompanied Migrant Children to Guatemala

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
17 hours ago

Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet

Demonstrators hold a banner during the 'March for Australia' anti-immigration rally, in Sydney, Australia, August 31, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
17 hours ago

Thousands in Australia March Against Immigration, Government Condemns Rally

President Donald Trump walks on the grounds of the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S., August 30, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
18 hours ago

Trump Says He Will Order Voter ID Requirement for Every Vote

Activists Yasemin Acar, Greta Thunberg and Thiago Avila attend a press conference before the departure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, at the port of Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025. (Reuters/Eva Manez)
18 hours ago

Greta Thunberg Joins Flotilla Heading for Gaza With Aid

National Guard troops wear gas masks during protests against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Chicago Mayor Says Police Will Not Aid Federal Troops or Agents

A view of tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli military offensive, in Gaza City, August 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
18 hours ago

Post-War Gaza Plan Sees Relocation of Population, ‘Digital Token’ for Palestinian Land: Washington Post

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend