Merced County Sheriff’s Los Banos Office, care home removed from active outbreaks list
New novel coronavirus cases confirmed in Merced County tallied 24 on Thursday, according to the most recent update by the Merced County Department of Public Health.
The additional COVID-19 infections raised the total number of cases confirmed in the county since the pandemic’s beginning to 9,439.
No further deaths of Merced County residents due to the virus were reported on Thursday. The pandemic’s death count currently stands at 154 fatalities locally, with two deaths having been reported this week.
Another positive update on Thursday came in the form of three long-time facilities on the active COVID-19 outbreak list being removed.
The Sheriff’s Office in Los Banos, Liberty Packing also in Los Banos and Anberry Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Atwater were each struck from the active outbreak list. Locations are removed once no additional COVID-19 cases are tied to the workplace for two weeks.
There are now seven workplace locations defined as having active outbreaks. Three or more three laboratory confirmed cases at a facility within two weeks qualifies as an outbreak. Skilled nursing facilities are the exception, where just one positive case constitutes an outbreak due to the high risk setting.
Will Merced County’s recent reopening last?
Thursday’s update came a day after County Public Health warned that under the state’s reopening plan rules, Merced County is at risk of reverting back to stricter nonessential business closures on account of its local COVID-19 data.
The county currently resides in the second strictest of reopening tiers defined by the state. If local coronavirus demographics worsen for two straight weeks, counties are reverted to a more stringent tier.
According to the local health department, a lack of residents’ getting tested for the novel coronavirus is responsible for the county’s potential backslide. Fewer tests means a rising rate of residents testing positive compared to negative, according to County Public Health.
Testing positivity over a seven day average, along with the number of new daily cases per 100,000 residents, are the two metrics looked at by the state to determine how much of a county’s economy may reopen. A higher testing positivity rate generally means more closures.
Merced County’s testing positivity was 4% as of Thursday. One week ago, it was 3.5%.
To reduce Merced County’s testing positivity, Count Public Health urged residents in a news release to get tested every two weeks if possible to ensure they’re not ill.
However, local COVID-19 cases presumed active have also increased in recent days -- and have once again passed the 300 threshold. Thursday, active infections tallied 309 compared to the prior Thursday’s 283.
Active cases are an estimate calculated via the number of new laboratory confirmed infections within the last two weeks.
Current hospitalizations of Merced County residents due to severe COVID-19 cases also grew by two patients on Thursday to 22. Six of those individuals are hospitalized at facilities within the county.
A total of 61,550 coronavirus tests have been performed on Merced County residents to date. Of those, 15.55% have tested positive.
Statewide, 880,724 cases have been confirmed and 17,189 known deaths have occurred.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 5:53 PM.
