Merced County meets step for reopening amid COVID-19. Will there be a Labor Day case surge?
The Merced County Department of Public Health on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three additional residents due to the novel coronavirus since Labor Day weekend.
The fatality count is now 123 since the pandemic started locally.
Two of the most recently deceased individuals were a man and a woman, according to County Public Health. One was between age 50-64 and the other two were 65-years-old or older.
While one of the deceased did have underlying health conditions prior to death, the health status of the other two is unknown.
Notably on Tuesday, Merced County’s average case positivity percentage over the last seven days dropped to 7.3%. The percentage shows the amount of residents screened for COVID-19 during the past week who test positive.
The statewide plan to open California’s economy requires counties to fall below an 8% positivity rate in order to advance into a less strict tier of reopening rules.
Merced County currently falls within the most stringent of state-mandated closures due to its COVID-19 data, meaning that many nonessential businesses are closed or restricted. Tuesday was the first time in months that Merced County fell below the state-defined 8% threshold.
However, the county is not yet on its way to relaxed restrictions. In addition to maintaining a positivity rate below 8% for two straight weeks, the Merced County must consistently cut its new daily cases per 100,000 residents in half.
Whether Merced County’s improving data metrics last will largely depend on resident behavior over Labor Day weekend.
County Public Health officials last week urged precaution in anticipation of holiday celebrations, warning that COVID-19 spikes have followed recent holidays due to lax social distancing and mask wearing during gatherings.
Because of the time it takes to show COVID-19 symptoms, get tested and receive lab results, Labor Day’s impact on the pandemic locally will not be clear for at least two weeks.
More on Merced County COVID-19 data
Also on Tuesday, new COVID-19 cases increased by 138 since Friday. There are now 8,415 laboratory confirmed infections in Merced County since the pandemic started.
Daily coronavirus cases through Labor Day weekend did not exceed 60, maintaining the recent trend of new daily infections consistently declining to lower numbers than hundreds seen in July and August.
Other improvements on Tuesday included Merced County residents actively hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 cases.
Current hospitalizations declined from 84 on Friday to 79 Tuesday, with 21 of the hospitalized individuals being cared for within the county. The bulk of local patients are being looked after at facilities outside the county.
The number of residents ever hospitalized on account of COVID-19, however, increased by 11 patients to 115 on Tuesday.
Residents believed to be actively sick fell on Tuesday to 762. One week ago, COVID-19 infections presumed active tallied 910.
Active infections are an estimate based on the number of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases within the prior 14 days.
Current outbreaks in Merced County remained at 20 on Tuesday. The most recent outbreak was reported at Park Merced, a retirement community, on Friday.
The county’s list of outbreaks includes workplaces where three or more laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases are linked to the facility within 14 days. One positive case constitutes an outbreak at a skilled nursing facility.
Outbreaks are closed and removed from the county’s list when there are no new known COVID-19 cases at a facility for two weeks.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
