Mariposa County reports 2 new coronavirus cases. Merced County total cases rise to 119
A day after the first Mariposa County coronavirus infection was reported, two more cases were confirmed Wednesday by Mariposa County Public Health.
Both are directly related to the first case and were transmitted person-to-person, a County Public Health news release said.
A total of 24 additional contacts associated with the first positive case have been identified. Each have been quarantined, and symptomatic individuals have been tested.
“More positive cases are anticipated in the upcoming days,” the release said. “Additional information will be released as details become available.”
The two new infected individuals are both age 57. One is male and one is female.
Coronavirus cases reported since the beginning of the outbreak reached 119 in Merced County on Wednesday, up three from the previous day, according to County Public Health. Of those cases, two more residents recovered from the disease for a total of 76 having lived through the virus.
Forty people in Merced County remain ill, and three have died from COVID-19 related complications.
One of the new Merced County infections is a City of Atwater resident, while another resides in Livingston, according to County Public Health. Atwater now has nine cases and Livingston has eight.
Los Banos leads the county with 37 total infected residents.
Specific numbers are only reported by County Public Health for communities with five or more cases, meaning the third case is an individual residing in a community with less than five total cases.
As of Wednesday, 2,044 coronavirus tests have been performed in Merced County — including testing through both the commercial and public health lab systems. Of those, 1,698 are negative, 119 are positive and 227 still pending.
In California as of Wednesday, there are 48,545 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,939 deaths.
Social distancing information for businesses and employers was added to Merced County Public Health’s website. The page also includes resources for businesses struggling during the pandemic.
Members of the community became more vocal this week with their request to reopen the local economy. State fiscal experts have recently said the pandemic has landed California in a recession that could last years.
Atwater City Council Monday agreed to send a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom asking that small, rural communities like Atwater may lift current restrictions for the good of their local economy.
Public comments read aloud at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting reiterated that sentiment, saying that keeping businesses shut is not worth the economic toll.
Hundreds of comments on the meeting’s Facebook Live stream reiterated those claims, and expressed skepticism about the severity of the pandemic.
County Public Health warned at Tuesday’s meeting that the number of those reportedly infected is likely much higher than the actual total.
Elsewhere in the Valley
Tulare County has consistently tallied the highest number of cases in the Central San Joaquin Valley.
Tulare County Health and Human Services added 48 more positive cases in its daily online update Wednesday. The county-wide total now stands at more than 600 people who have tested positive since the start of the pandemic.
The county also confirmed another death related to the coronavirus, bringing the total to 36 people who have died from complications related to the coronavirus.
Fresno County Health officials said the number of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus climbed to 538 — an increase of 17 cases. Seven people in Fresno County have died from COVID-19 and more than 200 have recovered.
Kings County reported 79 positive cases on Wednesday, which is eight more than the previous day. One person has died and 15 have recovered.
Madera County had 45 positive cases as of Wednesday though no new cases were added since Tuesday. Two people have died and 28 have recovered.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 6:57 PM.
