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There are now four people in Tulare County who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, averaging one new case a day since last week.

During a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Tulare County Public Health Department, Public Health Officer Karen Elliot said a person who recently traveled outside of the United States tested positive for the virus.

The patient returned to the county on March 13 and went to a health care provider to be tested. The patient is now self-isolating at home, Elliot said.

"We are now beginning our investigation," she said. It's unclear when or where the test was administered.

The patient's age and residence weren't released.

As of Tuesday, there were 53 people in Tulare County self-isolating — 13 have traveled outside the area and 40 were possibly exposed to the virus. On Monday, there were 78 people in self-isolation.

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.

A total of 138 tests have been administered by county health staff, up nearly 10 from Monday.

The first two cases reported in Tulare County were cases linked to travel. The first patient traveled to Southern California and the second patient traveled to Santa Clara County.

"Both (places) had very high cases of COVID-19," Elliot said.

Updates on the patients' conditions haven't been released.

"Our cases are very recent and in the process of recovering," said Sharon Minnick, HHSA public health epidemiologist.

The third case, reported Monday night, is more serious and the patient is in critical condition as Kaweah Delta Medical Center. The person's condition wasn't released Tuesday during the town hall meeting.

Bars will close

During Tuesday's town hall, Elliot announced she intends to make the governor’s guidelines to close all bars enforceable by law.

County staff is contacting the locations now. The order will be enforced by county public health staff and local law enforcement.

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.

"I know it's St. Patrick's Day," said Tulare County Supervisor Pete Vander Poel. "However, we are asking the public to be vigilant."

At this time, there is no mandate for businesses to close down, except for bars.

"Many businesses are suffering right now," Vander Poel said. "I don't foresee any additional mandates for closure for business."

Vander Poel said he believes the county has been proactive in preparing for COVID-19 and started planning safety measures in February.

"We knew it was going to come," Vander Poel said. "We knew it was just a matter of time... I think we've been very proactive."

County officials also urged the public to avoid overstocking and practice general guidelines handed down by local and state health officials.

"It's important to have a few weeks worth of supplies, but remember the world is not going to end," Vander Poel said. "Make sure you don't buy more than you need so others can also have supplies they may need."

If community members have traveled to other areas with community transmission or areas of risk or have a fever with lower respiratory symptoms and trouble breathing, call your primary care physician for further assistance. Call 2-1-1 for questions about COVID-19 or to be placed into contact with our communicable disease staff, and call before you visit a local hospital.

The COVID-19 infection can be transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets such as coughing or sneezing. It is highly contagious and characterized by either mild cold-like symptoms, or it can be a more severe lung infection with a fever.

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.