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The County of Tulare Public Health Branch confirms two additional deaths from COVID-19 in the county. Both individuals were over 65 and both passed away on April 3, 2020. One person was a person-to-person contact and the other was a travel case.

“We offer our sincere condolences to the friends and family who lost their loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County Public Health Officer. “Social distancing is the most important tool community members can use to avoid getting or giving COVID-19.”

Tulare County residents must follow these guidelines:

• Stay at home
• Go out only for essential items such as groceries and medical needs/prescriptions
• Limit outings to no more than 2 individuals
• Wash your hands and disinfect surfaces frequently

The Public Health Branch asks community members to follow the governor’s stay-at-home order to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread of COVID-19. This, and social distancing when you must go out for essential services such as grocery shopping, is the best way to avoid COVID-19.

The Public Health Department, in coordination with the CDC and CDPH, requests that residents begin wearing face coverings in public settings. Cloth or other face masks and coverings may help to reduce COVID-19 transmission by asymptomatic people or those who may not be showing symptoms yet. Social distancing and hand washing are still the best actions the community can take to fight COVID-19 and face masking is an additional measure; however, people must still stay six feet away from other people if you have to leave your home to get groceries or prescriptions.

The above guidance serves to help protect yourself from COVID-19 in addition to good health hygiene, such as washing hands, covering coughs/sneezes, remaining home when ill, avoiding other sick people, and frequently washing surfaces with regular home cleaners.

The Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency is diligent about the protection of patient privacy, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and for this reason we cannot release any other information about the patient. The information we release about the positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County is carefully curated to provide useful information to our community members, while also excluding information that would lead to the identification of patients. This is a protection, provided by law, that is extended to everyone.