Two new Merced County deaths reported. Plus outbreaks at cancer center, nursing facility
Two additional COVID-19 related deaths of Merced County residents were confirmed by County Public Health on Thursday, bringing the local death count since the pandemic began to 62.
Both of the most recently deceased were males age 65 or older, according to County Public Health. The health status of the individuals prior to their death is unknown.
Since Monday, 20 Merced County residents have been reported dead after contracting the novel coronavirus. This means about a third of all local COVID-19 caused fatalities so far were reported this week.
Also Thursday, County Public Health confirmed an additional two coronavirus outbreaks at El Portal Cancer Center and Franciscan, a skilled nursing facility. Total active outbreaks in the county tally 23.
County Public did not disclose the number of cases linked to each location’s outbreak. Outbreaks are defined by the county as three or more unrelated cases linked to a workplace facility within a two-week period. Just one positive case constitutes an outbreak at a skilled nursing facility due to the high risk setting.
Deaths reclassified as non-COVID-19 related
Along with the significant increase in coronavirus related deaths this week, the county’s total fatality count has seen adjustments in recent days. This is due to several resident deaths formerly reported by County Public Health last Friday as COVID-19 fatalities later being reclassified as non-coronavirus related deaths.
Of the 11 total coronavirus deaths originally reported by County Public Health Friday, eight were later reclassified between Monday and Tuesday as unrelated to the pandemic. No adjustments were made on Wednesday or Thursday as of 5 p.m.
It is still unclear how the eight resident fatalities were incorrectly categorized as cases of the novel coronavirus. The deaths reported Friday came after a data lag from an out-of-county hospital where the residents died, but it is unknown whether this contributed to the mistake.
New laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by 95 infections Thursday, bringing the known total caseload to 4,855. However, the statewide data issue with the electronic disease reporting system CalREDIE continues to persist.
This means across California, counties are still reporting an undercount of the true number of new daily COVID-19 cases.
The 95 new cases confirmed in Merced County on Thursday is notably lower than day-to-day counts during much of July. While it is unclear when the data lag began, some counties like Merced began reporting lower than typical numbers during the first few days of August.
Coronavirus cases in Merced County assumed to be active, meaning they were confirmed in the last 14 days, fell on Thursday to 1,732. This also may be due to an inaccurate data count.
Other important statistics looked at by the state, like case rates per capita and testing positivity percentages, are also affected by the data problem.
Merced and 37 other counties statewide are currently on a watch list due to such coronavirus statistics failing to meet state benchmarks. The watch list has been frozen by the state until the data issues are resolved.
Merced County’s testing positivity stayed at 20% Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which is slightly lower than previous days.
The percentage shows the number of residents screened for COVID-19 over the last week who tested positive. The state set its ideal maximum for counties at 8%.
Data not affected by the statewide glitch includes COVID-19 related deaths and hospitalizations. Merced County residents currently hospitalized due to severe infections rose to 80 Thursday. Of those, 57 are hospitalized in facilities within the county.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
