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Tulare County has two more confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus patients to seven — up two from Wednesday.

"Our community should understand that we are at a higher level of risk and they should take precautions wherever you go," said Tammie Weyker-Adkins, Tulare County Health and Human Services spokesperson.

The sixth case is a person between the ages of 18-24 and it is currently unknown how the virus was contracted, she said. The seventh individual is a travel case between the ages of 25-40.

Both cases were tested at Kaweah Delta and health officials are investigating to see who else they may have contacted.

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

“Though cases may be expanding, our actions can slow the spread of the virus,” stated Dr. Karen Haught, Public Health Officer. “Although we are used to coming together during a crisis, for this particular health crisis we do need to stay apart to help slow the spread of this illness.”

On Wednesday, the county confirmed its fifth patient. It was spread through person-to-person contact.

It's not immediately clear whether Tulare County will follow the city of Fresno's lead and order all residents to shelter in place. In comparison, Tulare County has more than double the cases as Fresno.

The order, announced late Wednesday and taking effect at midnight Thursday, asks residents to remain in their homes except for essential services, such as grocery shopping and caring for family members or pets.

"We are literally making life and death decisions here," Fresno Mayor Lee Brand said when announcing the decision, which remains voluntary but strongly encouraged.

Visalia city leaders signaled that they would follow the county's advisement in terms of enacting stricter policies to curb the spread of COVID-19.

“We will take and follow the lead of Tulare County health officials,” said Visalia Councilman Steve Nelsen. “If there is a consensus from city managers, we’ll do it (shelter in place) as a county.”

Nelsen said Tulare County is too closely aligned for individual cities to order shelter in place.

“We’ll do it as an consolidated effort,” he said.

However, Nelsen said he is skeptical that an official order is needed because residents seem to be following social distancing guidelines, despite the spike in cases overnight.

Previous:Fifth COVID-19 case in Tulare County is 'person-to-person' spread

On Tuesday, Haught announced Tulare County's fourth case and ordered all bars to close by force of law.

At that time, county leaders also expressed hesitancy to mandate further business closures following the St. Patrick's Day ban on bars.

"Many businesses are suffering right now," Chairman Pete Vander Poel said, during a Tuesday town hall with county health officials. "I don't foresee any additional mandates for closure for business."

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

Protecting the vulnerable from COVID-19

Several jurisdictions have put precautions in place to protect elderly people and those with underlying health conditions that make them more susceptible to the disease, including those with heart, lung and autoimmune conditions.

While COVID-19 appears to pose little threat to younger people with healthy immune systems, health officials say they are the primary driver of the disease. Healthy people can carry the virus without knowing it and spread it to people who are vulnerable.

Because there is currently no medication or vaccine capable of fighting the virus, officials urge the use of social distancing — or maintaining a 6-foot barrier between yourself and others — to slow the spread of the extremely contagious virus.

Other important preventative techniques include regular hand washing in hot water for at least 20 seconds, sanitizing surfaces, coughing and sneezing into your elbow instead of your hands, and avoiding nursing homes.

These measures are critical to prevent the United States from mirroring China and Italy, two countries whose health care systems have become overwhelmed by the disease.

Italy has wracked up just under 3,000 deaths since late February, with their national death toll surging by 475 deaths on Wednesday alone.

In California, there are at least 836 cases and 17 deaths as of Wednesday, up from 157 cases and three deaths last week. Nearly 12,000 people are self-isolating in the state, according to the LA Times, including 78 in Tulare County as of Monday.

About 80% of people who acquire the virus will show no or mild symptoms, about 15% of cases will be more serious with severe symptoms, and about 5% of cases will be critical, according to the CDC.

Health officials say it is critical to reduce the total number of infections and spread them out over a longer period of time — also known as "flattening the curve" — so hospitals can cope with COVID-19 while continuing to care for other patients with serious health conditions.

Joshua Yeager covers water, agriculture, parks and housing for the Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register newspapers. Follow him on Twitter @VTD_Joshy. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.