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The number of COVID-19 patients continues to increase daily in Tulare County.

On Wednesday, Tulare County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Haught announced the fifth case of COVID-19 in the county.

Tulare County is averaging one new patient a day. There have been no COVID-19-related deaths, as of Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, there were 88 people under self-quarantine in the county, according to Tulare County Public Health Department.

"The fifth patient belongs to a vulnerable population, over 65 years of age, and is considered person-to-person spread through direct contact," stated Tammie Weyker-Adkins, public information officer for Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency.

The patient is being self-quarantined at home because they're healthy enough not to be hospitalized. The public health branch started its investigation, and no new contacts have been identified, Weyker-Adkins said.

One COVID-19 patient remains in Kaweah Delta, isolated and in critical condition.

The number of people in self-isolation will change daily, health officials said. There is a two-week self-quarantine mandate for people who've traveled to high-risk areas coming back into the county.

More:COVID-19: A timeline of Tulare County-area events

More:Visalia, Board of Supervisors declare states of emergency over COVID-19, Tulare likely to follow

On Tuesday night, a fourth patient tested positive.

That patient is an adult between the ages of 18 and 25 and had traveled to Europe. When the person returned home, they self-quarantined, health officials said.

Once the patient began to experience symptoms, they received a test, which came back positive.

"The patient is well enough to continue to self-quarantine at home," Weyker-Adkins said.

Two people who came in contact with the patient were identified and asked to self-quarantine.

California now has 598 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Fresno city officials have issued a "shelter in place" order for residents to limit the spread of coronavirus. The order goes into effect at midnight Thursday.

There were two positive cases of COVID-19 in Fresno County, as of Wednesday.

Shelter in place means residents can only leave their homes for essential services, such as grocery shopping, doctor’s appointments, picking up medications or going to work.

Many counties across the state have made such orders.

Tulare County has declared a state of emergency, but it's unknown whether county officials will order residents to shelter in place.

COVID-19 can be controlled by appropriate public health action such as surveillance, identification and isolation of cases, infection control, intense contact tracing, and isolation of persons who may have been exposed to the virus.

Tulare County HHSA continues to urge residents to monitor their health closely.

If you are ill, please stay home

If you are a member of a vulnerable population, please stay home as much as possible

If you are a person who has traveled outside the county or country, please call 2-1-1 to find about the potential need to self-quarantine

Call 2-1-1 if you have the symptoms of COVID-19, such as:

Fever

Cough

Inability to take in a deep breath

Other lower respiratory symptoms

Community members with urgent questions about or symptoms of COVID-19 in Tulare County can call 2-1-1 to be connected to the information and resource hotline.

If you are a member of our senior population, over 65 years of age, and you need assistance with questions and resources, please contact K/T AAA at 1-800-321-2462 or online at www.ktaaa.org.

Sheyanne Romero covers Tulare County public safety, local government and business for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @sheyanne_VTD. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.