Coronavirus: Friday brings no deaths, fewer cases to Merced County
The Merced County Department of Public Health on Friday confirmed 14 additional cases of the novel coronavirus — a tie for the lowest daily case count since June 27.
No additional COVID-19-related deaths of Merced County residents were reported by County Public Health. To date, 145 local deaths have been tied to the pandemic.
Friday’s new infections increased the total number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Merced County since the pandemic’s beginning to 9,033.
As the total caseload grows, the number of infections presumed to be currently active is moving in the opposite direction. The active case count decreased by 15 on Friday to 320.
Active infections, however, are an estimate based on the total number of new laboratory-confirmed positives within the last 14 days.
Also suggestive of the improving state of COVID-19 locally is Merced County’s testing positivity, which indicates the percentage of residents screened for the disease during the past week who test positive.
On Friday, Merced County’s testing positivity fell slightly to 3.6%.
The data point is crucial, as it is one of two metrics used by the state as a parameter for reopening local economies. Consistently low testing positivity means more businesses can reopen.
The other data point that determines state-permitted reopening is a county’s daily number of positive cases per 100,000 residents.
On Tuesday, Merced County met both of the thresholds needed to advance out of the strictest of business closures, which it has been subject to for several months. This began a two-week countdown for the county to maintain or remain below the state-defined data benchmarks.
If successful, the county will be permitted to reopen more nonessential businesses.
Another sign of improvement: Fewer residents are hospitalized due to COVID-19 compared to recent weeks.
Current hospitalizations decreased by one patient on Friday to 37. Two weeks ago, 59 individuals were hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 cases.
Of the 37 COVID-19 patients currently in the hospital, just eight are being cared for in Merced County. The rest are at facilities outside of the county.
The number of Merced County residents ever hospitalized on account of COVID-19 remained stable at 690 on Friday.
Active COVID-19 outbreaks also held steady. Ten workplace facilities are currently on the county’s list of active outbreaks, meaning they have not yet gone two weeks without a new case being tied to the location.
