New COVID-19 test site to open Monday at Merced Fairgrounds, available to all residents
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Merced County rose to 136 total Friday, up five from the previous day, according to County Public Health. Of those, 53 individuals are actively sick, 80 have recovered and three have died.
Meanwhile, the new OptumServe testing site announced last week is set to open at the Merced County Fairgrounds on Monday, bringing at least 100 additional daily coronavirus tests to the county.
Officials say the tests will be available to all residents.
“With additional testing, we will be able to ascertain more accurate information about the transmission of this virus, which will assist health officials in determining the best course of action to protect our community,” said Director of Merced County Department of Public Health Dr. Rebecca Nanyonjo-Kemp in a news release.
County Public Health officials have recently said that the number of total coronavirus cases since the pandemic began is more likely around 450 in Merced County, but insufficient testing capacity has led to an incomplete tally.
A soft opening of the site was held Thursday and Friday and provided testing for first responders, healthcare personnel and a limited number of individuals from the public.
State testing guidelines were updated to include and prioritize asymptomatic individuals that may be at a higher risk of exposure, like healthcare providers and residents of congregate living facilities, the release said.
The site is open to walk-ins or by appointment 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Registration can be done at www.lhi.care/covidtesting or by calling 1-888-634-1123.
COVID-19 recovery plan on Monday’s Merced City Council agenda
City of Merced residents pleading for additional help amid the pandemic may get closer to having some of their requests addressed Monday.
Numerous appeals from city residents and small business owners has spurred the Merced City Council to discuss eviction concerns and consider a COVID-19 recovery plan for residents and businesses at their meeting 6 p.m. Monday.
The City Council at their last meeting set up a subcommittee consisting of Mayor Mike Murphy, Councilmembers Anthony Martinez and Jill McLeod and other members of the community to assess suggested economic recovery measures.
Among the options floated were vouchers for residents to use at businesses within the city, loans to businesses and direct aid.
The subcommittee will report their findings Monday and receive further direction on possible initiatives to include in a final COVID-19 Recovery Plan. The plan will eventually come before City Council for adoption and implementation.
Residents around Merced County have become more vocal in recent days with requests to reopen the local economy, citing severe damage to small businesses while county coronavirus cases and deaths remain relatively low.
Since the last City Council meeting, the city has also received other requests, a news release said. For example, the Merced Hotel Motel Association asked that payment of transient occupancy taxes be delayed until after July 1.
The Association noted that Los Angeles, Anaheim, West Hollywood, Vacaville and Yuba City have all have all taken action to provide hotels relief from transient occupancy tax payments.
“We hope the City of Merced can help hotel owners with such relief for three months so we can survive with staffing and miscellaneous expenses to serve the industry as required,” said Edwin Kainth, a representative for the Merced Hotel Motel Association, in a letter to Merced City Council.
In a recent interview with the Sun-Star, Murphy noted that the transient occupancy tax has been effectively flattened and the sales tax has taken a serious hit. The city largely depends on these funds, he explained.
The mayor sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday requesting that city businesses deemed nonessential be allowed to reopen. This would aid not only local business owners, but get money flowing back into the city, Murphy said.
He additionally requested that CARES Act aid be allocated toward cities like Merced with fewer than 500,000 residents.
Merced City Council is also set to discuss eviction concerns, and consider possible solutions. The discussion is at the request of Mayor Pro Tempore Matthew Serratto.
Several federal, state and local initiatives have already established protections for tenants and individuals with a mortgage. But some say these measures have not gone far enough.
The public can submit comments to Merced City Council by email no later than 3 p.m. Monday to cityclerk@cityofmerced.org. Comments should be limited to 500 words or less and specify which portion of the agenda is being referred to, the city says.
Comments may also be made by voicemail by calling (209) 388-8688 no later than 3 p.m. Monday. Voicemails are limited to three minutes.
More on coronavirus in Merced County
As of Friday, 2,435 coronavirus tests have been performed in Merced County, including both commercial and public health lab tests. Of those, 2,127 are negative, 136 are positive and are 172 pending.
In California as of Friday, there are 51,817 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,114 deaths.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 7:49 PM.
