Fresno County Public Health advises public to wear masks as county sees second death

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Cases of COVID-19 continue to grow in Fresno County. On Monday, the Department of Public Health announced 124 people have tested positive for the virus.

Of those patients, 14 are currently hospitalized and some are in critical condition. They also reported the second death in the county.

"It was an elderly gentleman who passed away in one of our area hospitals," Doctor Rais Vohra said.

Officials say all testing samples are currently being handled by two labs: one in Tulare County and the other by Quest Labs.

According to Dr. Vohra, it takes between 2 and 5 days to get test results, but that could vary.

"It's not that we don't have enough tests, it is that the testing we have is too slow."

Because of supply shortages, Vohra says they're currently working on a recycling program that would involve sterilizing used N95 masks.

Meanwhile, the public is being advised to also wear masks.

"Really, we are all in this together we want to protect the community, we want to preserve lives and we are all trying to support our community through what is a very hard time."