Coronavirus: Merced County passes 10,000 known cases. Active infections highest since September
Following a deadly series of days last week when eight novel coronavirus-caused fatalities were confirmed, the Merced County Department of Public Health on Monday reported no COVID-19 deaths over the weekend.
The eight deaths marked an increase in the number and frequency of local lives taken by the pandemic compared to preceding weeks.
But other data points updated on Monday proved to notably worsen since Friday.
An additional 158 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases were added to the running tally since County Public Health’s last update on Friday. The new cases boosted Merced County past the 10,000 total cases threshold to 10,140 as of Monday.
New cases numbered 73 on Saturday, 36 on Sunday and 49 on Monday. Saturday’s case count was the highest since Sept. 4.
Of the total COVID-19 infections confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic, 609 cases are currently presumed to be active.
That’s an increase of nearly 100 more active infections since Friday and represents the highest active case count since Sept. 16.
Although an estimate based on the number of new laboratory confirmed cases over the past two weeks, rising active cases indicates that more Merced County residents are testing positive for COVID-19 again.
During most of September and October, daily cases trended around 20. That marked a significant improvement compared to the case spikes during June through August, which often tallied upwards of 100 each day. But recently, during late October and November so far, new case counts each day are closer to 40 — or more.
Merced County tier two for reopening in danger?
County Public Health officials said last week that there is still time to turn rising cases back down, but warned that continuing on the current track will result in another wave of state-mandated closures.
Under California’s pandemic reopening road map, Merced County is currently assigned tier two — the second strictest of the four reopening tiers and defined as having substantial risk for COVID-19 transmission.
When certain COVID-19 data worsens in a county for two straight weeks, it is reverted back to a stricter tier.
County Public Health officials said last week that the recent direction of local data indicates Merced County may soon be assigned to a stricter tier. This would mean less nonessential businesses could be open, and others would have to shift to a reduced capacity.
The state updates county tiers once a week on Tuesdays.
Also reflective of the Merced County’s worsening COVID-19 demographics is its testing positivity, which had risen to 4.8% as of Monday. Testing positivity is one of the metrics looked at by the state to determine reopening tier assignments.
Although still safely within the required threshold for its tier two assignment, the county’s testing positivity during prior weeks had also been low enough to comfortably meet the next reopening tier’s required range of 2% to 4.9%.
As Merced County’s testing positivity ticks up, the prospect of another round of reopenings is increasingly out of grasp.
More on latest COVID-19 numbers
Although still higher than one week ago when active hospitalizations totaled 28, the number of Merced County residents hospitalized due to severe COVID-19 cases decreased by two individuals on Monday to 33.
Eleven patients are hospitalized locally while the majority are looked after at outside facilities.
The number of residents ever hospitalized on account of the pandemic rose by two patients to 725.
Active coronavirus outbreaks held stable with the same 14 workplace locations on the list.
Outbreaks are defined as three or more laboratory confirmed cases linked to a workplace facility within two weeks, or just one case at a skilled nursing facility. Workplaces removed from the list and cleared from active outbreak status when there are no new cases at the facility for two weeks.
In California so far, there are 971,851 confirmed coronavirus cases and 17,977 deaths.
A total of 67,069 Merced County residents have been screened for the virus. Of all tests, 15.31% have returned with a positive result.
