Merced County coronavirus totals rise to 7 infections. One infection happened locally
Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story incorrectly reported that all seven local cases of coronavirus infection were acquired outside of Merced County, based on information from Merced County Public Health. The county later clarified that one of those infections happened inside Merced County. The story has been updated to reflect that information.
Three additional coronavirus cases were confirmed Friday by the the Merced County Department of Public Health, bringing the total number of Merced County residents with the virus to seven.
One of the three latest cases were the result of community transmission, county officials say.
The other two new cases are connected to a cruise that left the country, officials confirmed to the Sun-Star. That makes six confirmed cases contracted via travel outside Merced County.
Public Health is contacting those potentially exposed to the new positive cases.
The county cannot disclose where the infected individuals reside, but officials confirmed that the cases are not localized to one part of Merced County. The information is kept private to protect patient privacy and limit unnecessary panic, officials said.
UC Merced also confirmed Friday in a news release that a “campus consultant” tested positive for coronavirus. The individual is included in the county’s updated tally.
The infected individual was last last on campus March 16, according to the release. All persons possibly exposed have been contacted and urged to self-quarantine through March 30.
One UC Merced student tested negative for the disease. A second was tested, but results haven’t been released.
Merced County is no longer issuing news releases for each new coronavirus case. Public Health will release limited demographic about cases once the number of infected persons reaches 10, officials said.
A total of 61 individuals have been tested through Merced County Public Health, including one of the cases confirmed Friday. At least that many have been tested through commercial labs.
A small shipment of testing kits was recently received, allowing a drive-through style mobile specimen collection site to move forward in the county’s east and west sides.
The testing is done in collaboration with Merced County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire and Merced County Office of Education nurse volunteers. All staff wear appropriate personal protective equipment, and patients are screened through their car window by a public health nurse.
Mobile testing available by appointment only for patients referred by Public Health.
The first death related to the virus in the central San Joaquin Valley was was confirmed Thursday in Madera County.
The individual, a man in his 60s suffering from underlying health conditions, tested positive for the virus on March 23, a Madera County Department of Public Health news release said.
The man is suspected to have contracted coronavirus from community transmission.
As of Thursday, the U.S. totaled more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other nation with at least 81,321 people having contracted the disease, the New York Times reported.
The public can dial Merced County Public Health’s information line at (209) 381-1180 for information in English and Spanish. The county is working on getting information in Hmong, officials said.
An interview with a physician in Hmong was posted to the Merced County Department of Public Health’s Facebook page, and will soon be posted to its website.
This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 5:21 PM.
