Coronavirus reported at Los Banos nursing facility, as total Merced County cases near 800
Outbreaks of coronavirus were reported Thursday at New Bethany Residential Care in Los Banos and Dutch Bros Coffee in Merced, according to the Merced County Department of Public Health.
The Department of Public Health also reported another coronavirus-related death Thursday, bringing the total number of local fatalities to 11.
The death, a man over age 65 with underlying health conditions, is the third coronavirus-related death reported since the weekend, according to a County Public Health spokesperson.
News of the latest outbreaks and death came as 50 coronavirus cases were added to the county’s total, raising the number of infected to 791. Thursday’s new cases topped the previous record of 49 Tuesday.
The new outbreaks include one resident and two employees at New Bethany, a retirement home, who tested positive for COVID-19. Dutch Bros employees having contracted the disease tally four.
The state defines a workplace outbreak as three or more confirmed cases at most work locations. Just one positive COVID-19 case at skilled nursing facilities qualifies as an outbreak, on account of the high risk setting.
“Due to the higher risk of severe illness among the vulnerable populations that our skilled nursing facilities serve, it is important that we continue to reduce the risk of exposure to both healthcare staff and the residents of our local nursing facilities,” County Health officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval said in the release.
“As a reminder, we should all continue to practice the safety measures that have been identified as effective actions against the spread of COVID-19 to prevent outbreaks in the community.”
Active cases outnumber recoveries
Active cases for the second day in a row outnumbered recoveries Thursday, with 415 and 365 respectively. While active cases have continued to climb, recoveries have not risen for several days now.
Precautionary measures shown to curb the virus’s spread include wearing a face mask in public, practicing at least 6 feet of social distancing and regularly disinfecting hands and surfaces.
Also Thursday, total hospitalizations increased by six to 78. Residents currently hospitalized tally 26.
The positive case rate, meaning the percentage of persons screened for coronavirus who test positive, rose from 6.16% to 6.42% as well.
Hospitalizations and the positive case rate are important metrics for the local economy to remain open under state approval.
As more businesses continue to reopen, more outbreaks are expected in service industry and skilled nursing facility locations, the release said. County Public Health will cease news releases for each outbreak, but will post affected places on its coronavirus website.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 5:17 PM.
