Coronavirus update: Two more Merced County deaths, plus active cases on the upswing
Two more Merced County residents lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus since Friday, the Merced County Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday.
To date, 152 COVID-19-related fatalities have occurred locally since the beginning of the pandemic.
Both of the most recently deceased were males between 50-64-years-old, according to County Public Health. One of the residents had underlying health conditions prior to death. The health status of the other individual is unknown.
County Public Health on Tuesday also reported an additional 116 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases since Friday. The new cases increased the county’s running total to 9,265.
No local COVID-19 updates were provided on Monday on account of county offices being closed.
Daily cases tallied 20 on Saturday, 18 on Sunday, 40 on Monday and 38 on Tuesday, according to County Public Health data.
Monday’s 40 new infections marked the highest daily count since Sept. 16. Recently, new cases have trended downwards of 30 most days.
With new cases rising higher on Monday and Tuesday, the number of COVID-19 cases presumed active in Merced County’s again increased past 300. Active cases are an estimate based on the number of new laboratory confirmed infections within the last two weeks.
Following a consistent streak of falling active cases, the tally dipped below the 300 threshold on Oct. 5 for the first time in months — and continued to decrease to as low as 277 on Friday. Tuesday’s increase to 304 active cases represented a shift upward.
Active hospitalizations of Merced County residents due to severe COVID-19 cases also worsened since Friday, with two additional patients raising the number of current hospitalizations to 32 as of Tuesday. Eleven individuals are hospitalized in Merced County while the remaining majority are cared for at outside facilities.
The number of residents ever hospitalized on account of the novel coronavirus also increased by four to 694.
Other local COVID-19 data still improving
Despite the setback in terms of active cases and hospitalizations, other local COVID-19 data continued to indicate positively on Tuesday.
Merced County’s improving coronavirus demographics allowed it to transition one week ago from the strictest of reopening tiers to the second most stringent. The shift permitted more nonessential businesses and schools to begin opening their doors.
To determine what local sectors can reopen, the state looks at a county’s number of new daily cases per 100,000 residents and its testing positivity, meaning the percentage of residents screened for COVID-19 within the past week who test positive. Consistently lower daily cases and testing positivity generally means increased opening can occur.
Since the prior Tuesday, Merced County’s new daily cases have decreased to 6.1 per 100,000 residents and testing positivity declined to 3.5%, according to the latest state numbers.
Merced County must further improve to less than four new daily cases in order to advance to the next opening tier. Its testing positivity is currently in compliance with the next tier’s required percentage.
Counties must meet the next tier’s criteria for two weeks straight before advancing. If data worsens for two consecutive weeks, the county will revert to a more restrictive tier.
Overall, 16.09% of all residents screened for COVID-19 have tested positive for the virus to date. A total of 58,434 county residents have been tested.
The list of active COVID-19 outbreaks in Merced County also remained stable on Tuesday. There are currently 12 known outbreaks locally.
Locations are cleared from the list when no additional cases are tied to the facility for two weeks.
