COVID-19 cases slightly rise in Fresno County

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Health experts in Fresno County are warning the public about the slight increase in COVID-19 cases.

Doctor Trinidad Solis with the Fresno County Public Health Department says they are using multiple methods to collect data and track the trends.

"We are seeing an increase in positive tests here in our region. We are also looking at wastewater surveillance, and that usually shows us a general trend where it's going. So, we are seeing, since really July, in the wastewater surveillance," said Dr. Solis.

State data shows COVID-19 hospital admissions have been climbing in Fresno County since mid-July, and during the most recently recorded week, the numbers increased nearly 39% over the previous weeks in August.

Dr. Solis said during summer months, people are more active and tend to gather in larger crowds. Many children also recently went back to school. And on top of that, a new variant is making its way around.

"It's EG-5. That's the more dominant sub-variant right now with COVID. It's related to Omicron, but because it's new, every time we see a new variant, we tend to see an uptick of cases," said Dr. Solis.

Current data show that EG-5 is not as severe as previous sub-variants.

"I'm tired of talking about it. We all are. It's exhausting. It doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. We still have to protect ourselves," said Dr. Kenny Banh with UCSF Fresno.

He said a new COVID-19 vaccine should be available within the next couple of months.

"The new updated booster is based on the S-B-1 Omicron variant that this is kind of a mutation of," said Banh.

Dr. Banh encourages people to be cautious, especially if you or someone you're close to is immunocompromised.

"Now it's become, as you mentioned, similar to flu where we kind of have surges, different variants will pop-up, but we can kind of react to those and respond to those and act appropriately," said Banh.

There are plenty of resources available throughout the county, from tests to treatment if you find yourself with COVID-19.

To find out more information on resources, click here.

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