On March 23, the Fresno County Department of Public Health reported additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases up to 13.
Six of the cases are travel related, two were transmitted person to person and the remaining five are still under investigation. FCDPH said there is still no identified community spread in Fresno, but that, “the risk to the general public is real.”
Among the confirmed cases is former Fresno State football player Travis Brown, who was tested for COVID-19 at Clovis Community Medical Center on March 14. It is still unclear how Brown became infected with the virus.
In a post to Facebook, Travis Brown’s mother, Mindy Brown, said, “Travis was released from the ER later that day and told to self-quarantine until they received his test results. He had already strictly isolated himself though, because his sickness felt different than any flu or cold he’d ever experienced.”
Travis Brown is currently recovering from the disease at home. In a March 22 social media post, the former Bulldog linebacker said, “I appreciate everyone’s well wishes and prayers as I recover from home! They mean a lot to me.”
Cases continue to increase around the Central Valley.
The neighboring county of Tulare reported 16 coronavirus cases, while Madera County reported 6 cases.
The California Department of Public Health reported 1,931 COVID-19 cases and widespread community transmission throughout the state as of March 24. That number may be higher, however, as media outlets such as the Los Angeles Time reported that the number of California cases surpassed 2,200.
Cases throughout the United States continue to surge, as the CDC reported 44,183 cases and 544 deaths at press time.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter in place order remains in effect, as state and local health experts urge the public to practice good hygiene and social distancing to slow the spread of the disease.
At Newsom’s request, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration for California on March 21. The declaration provides additional aid to the state in the form of unemployment assistance and disaster legal services for those who have suffered business losses caused by the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, California has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Newsom said in a letter to Trump. “Besides California being home to nearly 40 million people, which itself poses significant logistical issues few other states face, California partnered with the federal government in several extremely complex and challenging repatriation missions, which strained California’s resources and impacted California’s healthcare.”
The assistance includes mass care and emergency assistance, crisis counseling, disaster case management, disaster unemployment assistance, disaster legal services and Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance.