COVID-19: Merced County ICU bed capacity strained. Foster Farms back on outbreaks list
Merced County intensive care unit availability is on the brink of full capacity, according to the most recent state and county data.
With the number of COVID-19 cases severe enough to require hospitalization rising, so too are fatalities. Three additional Merced County residents have lost their lives to the pandemic since Tuesday. A total of 185 local deaths due to COVID-19 have been reported to date.
Two of the deaths were women and one was a man, each age 65 or older. The health status of the three individuals prior to death is unknown.
The Merced County Department of Public Health on Wednesday told the Sun-Star in an email that available beds now tally seven. In total, the county has 24 ICU beds. Seven of those are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients, while the remaining 10 are admitted for other reasons.
Whereas hospitals typically have a wintertime increase in patients requiring intensive-care treatment for flu, pneumonia and other ailments, the ongoing increase in COVID-19 patients is adding to that demand.
In the last week, up to 50% of all Merced County ICU patients were admitted for COVID-19, according to County Public Health. When bed capacity is occupied by COVID-19 patients, the availability to provide ICU beds for non-COVID-19 patients is decreased.
In addition to the 29 in-county hospitalizations as of Wednesday, 35 more residents are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 illness outside of Merced County, according to County Public Health data.
Total COVID-19-caused local hospitalizations reported since the beginning of the pandemic rose by 10 patients to 813 on Wednesday.
Searching for solutions
County Public Health officials say they are concerned over the increase in social gatherings and the rise in community spread due to the previous and upcoming holiday seasons. They say such gatherings further increase the likelihood of spread and a worsening case surge.
With local ICU bed capacity at risk, county officials are working to identify additional locations and staff to serve the rising number of patients, County Public Health said in the email.
Merced County hospitals are reviewing and placing surge plans in place. However, should case counts continue to increase, there is a risk beds will no longer be available locally, County Public Health said.
Available hospital and ICU beds are dwindling not just in Merced County, but across California. Statewide, the California Department of Public Health reported 2,006 COVID-19 patients in ICUs and only 1,810 free beds remain. That’s the second-highest patient tally during the pandemic.
California’s ICU capacity is now at its lowest recorded point during the coronavirus pandemic.
Workplace outbreaks rising
Active COVID-19 outbreaks in Merced County grew by four locations on Wednesday, raising the list to 36 workplaces.
The new outbreak locations are: Central Star Crisis Residential Unit (a behavioral health facility), Trident Center (a probation office), La Sierra Care Center (a rehabilitation center) and Foster Farms poultry plant in Livingston.
Foster Farms return to the outbreak list is notable, as the Livingston plant previously spent many weeks on the outbreak list.
The outbreak resulted in 92 Foster Farms employees testing positive for COVID-19, nine of whom died. The workplace outbreak was the worst in Merced County and one of the deadliest in the state, according to County Public Health officials.
Foster Farms was removed on Sep. 30 after no additional cases were tied to the plant for two weeks.
Merced County reports 146 new infections
State health officials on Wednesday also reported 20,759 new lab-confirmed cases in California, breaking the former single-day record.
Merced County accounted for 146 of those new cases. The county’s caseload since the pandemic began stands at 12,427.
New daily infections are now regularly tallying over the 100 case threshold in Merced County. The growing number of positive test results are climbing toward the record-setting days during the summer case spike, when new daily infections sometimes came to more than 200 and 300.
Cases presumed to be active jumped up by 59 cases on Wednesday to 1,678 — the highest local count since Aug. 24.
Active cases are estimated via the number of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past 14 days.
Local testing positivity continued its recent uptick to 9.8% on Wednesday. That means an average of 9.8% of all COVID-19 tests during the last seven days returned with a positive result.
A county’s testing positivity must be fewer than 2% in order to advance to the most lenient of economic restrictions, according to rules defined by the state’s blueprint for reopening amid the pandemic.
Of the 78,301 total COVID-19 tests conducted on Merced County residents during the pandemic, 16.05% of all results have been positive.
Statewide, 113 deaths of California residents due to the virus were reported on Wednesday — the most in a day since Oct. 21. While average daily deaths are still below summer’s peak, they are creeping up.
Around the Valley
Tuesday’s coronavirus updates from central San Joaquin Valley counties include:
Stanislaus County: 237 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. Two more people have died, for a total of 428 as of Tuesday. The county has 22,399 people who have tested positive since the pandemic’s start.
Fresno County: 292 new cases Tuesday, 39,004 to date; no additional deaths, 488 to date. Fresno County updates fatalities only on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Kings County: 121 new cases, 11,555 to date; no additional deaths, 89 to date. Kings County includes almost 5,660 cases among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 81 new cases, 6,427 to date; no additional deaths, 86 to date.
Mariposa County: Two new cases; 144 to date; no additional deaths, three to date. The county reduced its total case count by one because of a duplication on Tuesday.
Tulare County: 446 new cases, 21,778 to date; three new deaths, 314 to date.
Across the six-county region, more than 91,300 people have tested positive for infection from COVID-19 since the first local cases surfaced in early March. Of that number, 1,165 deaths have been attributed to the virus.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 6:41 PM.
