Merced County total COVID-19 deaths hit 160, active infections rise, public health says
Two more Merced County residents have died due to the novel coronavirus, the Merced County Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday.
The two new fatalities raised the total number of COVID-19-caused deaths since the pandemic’s start to 160. Four of those fatalities have been confirmed by County Public Health this week.
One of the most recently deceased residents was male and the other female, according to County Public Health. One was between age 50-64 and the other age 65 or older. Both had underlying health conditions prior to death.
The four fatalities reported since Monday represent an increase in both the number and frequency of local COVID-19 deaths compared to recent weeks.
Active coronavirus outbreaks remained at 12 on Tuesday, but one location was struck from the list and another was added.
Pacifica Senior Living in Merced is now listed as having an active COVID-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, Anberry Transitional Care, also in Merced, was removed from the outbreak list.
Just one COVID-19 case constitutes an outbreak at skilled nursing facilities, while three or more cases within two weeks is required for other workplace facilities to be listed as having an outbreak. Locations are no longer considered to be in active outbreak status when no additional cases are traced back for two weeks.
Also on Tuesday, 40 additional laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases were tallied to Merced County’s running total. To date, 9,819 known county residents have contracted the novel coronavirus.
The number of new reported infections has also increased recently compared to past weeks.
This is reflected in the active infection count increasing again on Tuesday to 433 from the previous day’s 404. Tuesday’s number of infections presumed active is up notably from week ago, when just 307 residents were estimated to be actively ill.
Active COVID-19 cases are an estimate based on the total number of new laboratory confirmed cases over the past two weeks. The uptick indicates a rise in the number of tests returning positive.
Also indicative of rising positive tests is the county’s testing positivity percentage. The data point grew from Monday’s 2.8% to 3.1% on Tuesday.
Testing positivity is one of the metrics looked at by the state to determine how much of a county’s local economy may reopen. The statewide blueprint for reopening amid the pandemic divides counties into four tiers with varying levels of business closures.
Merced County is currently subject to the second strictest tier’s rules. The state typically updates county tier assignments once a week on Tuesdays, but has delayed it until Wednesday this week due to the general election.
Despite the rise, Merced County’s testing positivity is still within the necessary threshold for its current tier assignment.
Also on an uptick Tuesday was active hospitalizations due to COVID-19. The addition of two more county residents being hospitalized raised the total number of patients to 30. Nine patients are hospitalized within Merced County while the remaining majority are looked after at outside facilities.
A total of 711 county residents have been hospitalized on account of COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Of the 65,206 total coronavirus tests performed on Merced County residents to date, 15.26% of the results have been positive.
