Merced County adds 85 coronavirus infections in one day, as total cases surge past 1,000
Merced County’s total coronavirus caseload soared past 1,000 Tuesday, with a record 85 new infections reported in one day — boosting the tally to 1,064, according to County Public Health.
Total hospitalizations and deaths reported since the pandemic began remained stable at 94 and 11, but the rate of individuals screened for the disease testing positive rose to 7.61%.
Active cases and recoveries are no longer displayed on the county’s COVID-19 statistics dashboard. This is due to the current classification for a recovery being too labor intensive, Merced County Director of Public Health Rebecca Nanyonjo-Kemp said.
The definition of a recovery varies from county to county, she said. County Public Health officials are working on a new set of criteria that is still accurate, but will impact staff less as the number of cases to be examined climb.
“We’re not talking about small numbers anymore,” she said. “They are bad, and they are getting worse,” she added.
Due to the increasing COVID-19 numbers and severity, the county will again release reports on a daily rather than weekly basis.
Nanyonjo-Kemp told the Sun-Star that she wishes to firmly dispel the myth that the surge in cases is due to a comparable increase in testing. She noted the consistently rising positive case rate per capita.
“We’re doing just as much testing as we’ve done before, but the difference is the number of people testing positive,” Nanyonjo-Kemp said. “It is going to impact our hospitals,” she added.
Impact to area hospitals is already evident. The California Department of Public Health on Monday publicly placed Merced County on a list of counties whose coronavirus statistics, like hospitalizations, no longer comply with minimum state thresholds.
Metrics of concern for the state include elevated disease transmission, increasing hospitalizations and limited hospital capacity. Merced County was flagged for all three and put into “targeted engagement” with the state to identify preventative strategies and next steps.
“Everything that’s happening now in this county is not a surprise,” Nanyonjo-Kemp said. “We took for granted that we were faring well, and we are no longer faring well. We are faring some of the worst.”
Hospital space impacted
As of Tuesday, state data shows just 10.5% of the county’s intensive care unit bed capacity is available — well below CDPH’s 20% minimum. The positive case rate during a seven day period stands above the 8% threshold at 9.9%.
Even though Merced County wasn’t added to CDPH’s public watch list until Monday, Nanyonjo-Kemp said the county’s metrics have actually been outside of state parameters for nearly a week.
This raises concerns, as Nanyonjo-Kemp said counties have just a 14-day window to turn their act around and prove coronavirus is under control locally. If not, the state may intervene and mandate another round of business closures.
If the state does step in, Nanyonjo-Kemp said there will be consequences. “Its not going to be good,” she said.
The Public Health Director pointed to preventative measures, like social distancing or wearing a mask, having “gone out the window” lately.
In addition to encouraging residents to take social responsibility and hold each other accountable, she urged residents to follow the science of reputable sources like the Center for Disease Control that show what measures work in curbing the virus’s spread.
“We need their help to control this situation better,” she said of Merced County residents. “It’s a cry and a plea for help.”
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 6:29 PM.
