Fresno County’s total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 371 Tuesday, April 21, after the County Department of Public Health reported an additional 20 cases.
Two of the new cases were reported in Clovis, bringing the city’s total to 34. Fresno has the highest amount with 198 cases.
The number of deaths remains at seven.
Out of the total number of cases, 139 were community spread or originated from an unknown source, 43 were travel related, 121 were spread via close contact and 68 are still under investigation.
The FCDPH reported 21 additional recoveries, meaning a total of 126 have recovered from the disease. There are still 238 active cases.
Fresno County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau said the City of Fresno will receive $81 million from the CARES Act, which congress passed in an effort to provide relief to businesses and agencies affected by the ongoing crisis. Fresno County will receive more than $90 million.
Rousseau said the funds will help pay for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, protective equipment and technology that allows county employees to work from home.
He said the funds will cover costs from March 1 through the end of the year.
The City of Clovis will also receive funding from the CARES Act. Clovis City Community and Economic Development Director Andy Haussler said the city will receive $440,000 from the CARES Act, which will be used to assist residents and local businesses struggling through the crisis.
Area businesses remain hopeful that Fresno County will lift its shelter-in-place order May 6. County Interim Health Officer Rais Vohra said lifting the order the first week of May is still a possibility.
“I think we’re getting there, you know, I think we’ve probably got a few hundred tests a day going on right now. I think that we will be on track,” Vohra said.
He previously said Fresno should be conducting six to 10 times the amount of tests it currently does. But he expects the county will soon receive the materials necessary to make up for lost ground.
“In the next few weeks, it would make me comfortable to say we have 1,000 negative tests every day. And, hopefully, it won’t be 50 people a day that are new. But, if we get a dozen new cases a day, then that’s something that my contact tracing team can follow up on,” Vohra said.
The City of Clovis is following the state’s guidelines on when to reopen businesses. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-in-place order is set to expire May 1.