Tulare County health officials reported 13 additional COVID-19 related deaths and 1,687 new infections since Dec. 23, the last date the Tulare County Health and Human Service Agency reported new data since the Christmas break.

On Dec. 23, the health agency reported a daily record of 13 COVID-19-related deaths. That means in five days, 26 people have died of COVID-19 related causes, according to the health agency. Since the pandemic hit Tulare County in mid-March, 386 people have died from COVID-19 complications.

So far in December, Tulare County has seen a monthly record of 9,090 newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, 203% higher than July’s total number of 5,298 new infections, the previous highest month for new infections, according to county HHSA statistics.

If hospitalization and death models hold to past numbers during the pandemic, 12% of the newly infected will require some level of hospitalization and 12% of those hospitalized will die, local health officials previously reported.

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