One more confirmed coronavirus case in Merced County, bringing the total to 8
One additional coronavirus case was confirmed Saturday by the the Merced County Department of Public Health, bringing the total number of Merced County residents with the virus to eight.
There were three coronavirus cases reported on Friday, including one that was a result of community transmission.
“This emphasizes the need for residents to follow the stay-at-home order and only leave home for essential purposes,” the health department said in a release.
Public Health staff will continue to assess risks of exposure and contact any affected individuals.
Due to privacy laws, the Public Health Department can’t release identifying information to protect the patient.
The Merced County Healthy Department also announced that until further notice, it will no longer release the number of tests being administered in Merced County. The previous numbers reported only included tests done within the public healthy system.
With so many people being tested within the commercial lab system — numbers for which the Public Health Department does not have access to — the number of tests wouldn’t be accurate.
The Public Health Department is looking for a “process to more comprehensively capture negative testing results from all lab sources,” according to the release.
There are 4,900 active cases of COVID-19 in California and 101 deaths.
This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 6:44 PM.
