COVID-19 cases among Fresno County's youth are up 30%
200 of Fresno County's 270 ICU beds are filled. About 40 are COVID patients.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Young, healthy people may be better suited to fight off the coronavirus, but Fresno County Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra says emergency room doctors have been treating more young people for COVID-19.
"I think it has to do with the gatherings," he says.
As people venture out of their homes more, the county has seen a big spike in COVID cases.
Most alarmingly - in the past week, cases are up 30% among people 18 to 49.
Kids 17 and younger saw an 18% increase.
"This is really a wake-up call to all our young people. You're not immune. This is something that will possibly land you in the emergency department," says Vohra.
In Fresno, Kings, Tulare, and a handful of other counties, bars which had reopened are now closing again because of rising infection rates throughout California.
Health experts can't stress enough the importance of masking, sanitizing, and distancing.
200 of the the county's 270 ICU beds are filled. About 40 are COVID patients.
The latest increase worries Dr. Vohra because he says the coronavirus death rate usually spikes a few weeks after a large number of people are hospitalized.
"I think July is going to be very tragic in terms of the number of hospitalizations and the number of fatalities that we see."
The county recommends people get outside as much as possible.
Dr. Vohra says the risk of catching the virus outdoors is much lower than it is indoors.
For more news coverage on the coronavirus and COVID-19 go to ABC30.com/coronavirus
