Merced County adds 68 cases, 1 death. Looser restrictions announced on breweries, wineries
Merced County added a new death and 68 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the totals to 29,711 and 418, respectively.
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties are all in the purple tier, while Mariposa has moved up to orange.
Meanwhile, the state on Thursday announced looser restrictions on breweries and wineries beginning Saturday, the CDPH said in a news release on Thursday.
The looser restrictions means breweries, wineries and distilleries that do not serve meals can open outdoors with modifications. Those business in counties in the purple or red tiers had previously been closed altogether.
The latest updates come a day after the House approved President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which provides money for struggling local governments and efforts to tamp down the spread of the deadly virus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last week that California is directing 40% of its vaccine supply to give shots to people living in census tracts and ZIP codes statewide that fall into the bottom 25% of the California Healthy Places Index, or HPI. The HPI assigns a score to neighborhoods based on health community conditions, assessing factors including economics, education, transportation, access to healthcare, housing, and air and water quality.
Of 376 U.S. Census Bureau tracts in Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare counties, 215 are in that bottom quartile of neighborhoods being prioritized by Newsom. Those areas are home to more than 1.1 million people in the Valley.
State offers rapid tests to teachers
California is offering affordable rapid COVID-19 testing to school employees and students returning to campuses in an effort to help prevent the spread of the virus.
The BinaxNow tests will be available to school districts and will provide results in 15 minutes, according to the California Department of Education, which is working to identify school districts that are interested in testing students.
The news comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a school reopening deal that puts pressure on schools to get students back to their classrooms by April. Most school districts in the Sacramento region have announced reopening dates for the end of March or early April.
Other Valley counties
Fresno County tallied 122 new cases, pushing the total to 96744 cases. The total number of deaths from the virus is 1,519.
Tulare County reported 47 new cases Thursday of the virus, which brings the total to 48,479. A newly reported death pushed the total to 782.
Kings County added 20 cases and added four deaths to bring the totals to 22,270 and 233, respectively.
Madera County did not report any new deaths, leaving that total at 222. A dozen new cases brings that tally to 15,648.
Mariposa County has seen 396 cases and seven deaths related to the coronavirus.
