Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra warned on a Wednesday teleconference that lifting the shelter-in-place orders is under Governor Gavin Newsom’s control, not the individual cities.
“We really have to abide by the statewide order, because that’s going to really control what we’re able to do,” Vohra said. “So we’re really waiting for what the governor does more than anything else, and that will actually direct our local guidance and actions for some of our local partners here.”
The city of Fresno’s shelter-in-place order is currently set to expire on May 6, and even if the city does not extend the order, the state’s order will still be in place.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health reported that the net change for active coronavirus cases increased by 4 from Tuesday, totaling 329 active cases.
There have been 538 total cases in the county, 202 patients have fully recovered and the number of fatalities remains at seven, which is now over two weeks since someone has passed away from COVID-19 in the county.
The total number of cases increased by 17 on Wednesday, and the number of recovered patients increased by 13.
The county has processed 6,981 total tests, 7.7 percent of which have tested positive. Although, Vohra said that the percentage is likely lower because hospitals and other testing partners have not reported every negative test to the county.
Vohra said the state’s high throughput testing site may be operating in the county next week, and the site location should be announced over the next few days.
The testing site will be able to conduct about 100 tests per day. Fresno County is currently averaging 500-700 tests per day, Vohra said.
