COVID-19 claims the lives of 7 Merced County residents over weekend. Deaths now total 22
The lives of seven additional Merced County residents were claimed by the novel coronavirus since Friday, marking the deadliest weekend on record locally since the pandemic began, according to Merced County Department of Public Health numbers.
Six of the most recently deceased residents were women and one was a man, according to County Public Health. Three were between age 50-64 and four were 65-years-old or older. Two of the deceased had underlying health conditions, one did not and four are unknown.
A total of 22 Merced County residents have now died as a result of COVID-19 related complications, according to County Public Health.
One week ago, local fatalities tallied 13.
Along with the increased deaths, local COVID-19 cases rose significantly over the weekend by nearly 300 new infections. The 291 new laboratory-confirmed positive cases since Friday raised the county’s caseload to 2,694 total since the pandemic began.
Infections presumed active, meaning they were reported within the last 14 days, rose to 1,164.
Active hospitalizations fell slightly since Friday to 56 residents with infections severe enough to mandate hospital care. Still, that’s about 20 more local individuals hospitalized than last Monday.
Active hospitalizations include residents cared for in facilities both within and outside of the county.
The City of Merced, where most of the known regional COVID-19 cases have been confirmed, is approaching 1,000 total cases. With 920 confirmed infections Monday, the city leads Atwater, the second most affected community, by 535 infections.
Los Banos’s case count tallies the third highest at 304. All other affected communities have less than 200 known cases each.
Los Banos testing site opens
An additional COVID-19 testing site opened Monday in Los Banos, providing increased testing to the county’s west side.
Located at 403 F St., the new site at the Los Banos Fairgrounds is a state-funded partnership with Verily. The mobile site provides self-administered, non-invasive testing from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
“Our goal is to ensure all residents have reasonable access to testing in their community,” said County Public Health Officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval in a news release.
Appointments are required, but patients do not need to present COVID-19 symptoms or secure a doctor’s referral to be tested. Appointments can be scheduled at www.projectbaseline.com/COVID19.
A list of coronavirus testing locations and how to register is on County Public Health’s website.
While health officials have noted that increased testing capabilities leads to an uptick in the number of known COVID-19 cases, they have also pointed to the rising positive case rate as a sign of increased transmission. The rate shows the percentage of individuals screened for the novel coronavirus whose tests come back positive.
As of Monday, Merced County’s positive case rate is 14.7% -- an almost 1% decrease from Friday, but still notably over the state’s ideal maximum threshold of 8%.
Superintendent urges precaution after school closures
Surging coronavirus transmission and hospitalization in Merced County and statewide led Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday to order schools shut for in-person classes until the counties meet certain criteria set by the state.
Merced County’s not alone, as more than 30 of California’s 58 counties are on a state watch list due to their coronavirus numbers having soared beyond state benchmarks.
All of Merced County’s 20 school districts are impacted by the governor’s announcement.
“With the start of the school year less than one month away for most Merced County school districts, the announcement from Governor Newsom on Friday makes a physical reopening of school sites unlikely in that timeline,” said Merced County Superintendent of Schools Steve Tietjen in a news release.
Until the Merced County’s coronavirus data stabilizes for a 14-day period, students will attend classes online.
Tietjen said local schools are now more prepared than when they first closed in March to effectively operate amid distance learning. Still, he urged the community to work together to slow the pandemic’s spread so that the county meets state guidelines allowing schools to reopen for in-person instruction.
“We must wear face coverings, maintain social distance, wash our hands regularly and minimize mixing of people we do not live with,” he said in the release. “As a community, it is essential that we abide by this public health guidance for our positivity rate to decrease to the threshold where we can open school sites.”
Tietjen noted that for some families, having kids attend school is essential. This is especially true for parents with young children and where remote work is not an option, he said.
“Wearing a mask is not just polite; it’s what we need to do to get our schools back open,” he said. “Wear a mask every time you go out, wash your hands and keep your social distance.”
This story will be updated.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 4:40 PM.
