Merced County hits record for new daily COVID-19 infections — for three consecutive days
Merced County broke records for new COVID-19 cases for three consecutive days last week, as the extremely transmissible omicron variant’s spread tipped daily case counts higher than any previous point during the pandemic.
According to Merced County Department of Public Health’s COVID dashboard, there were 680 new cases on Saturday — the most new COVID cases ever confirmed in a day locally.
Friday saw the confirmation of 554 new COVID-19 cases — up 162 infections from the prior all-time high.
The 392 new cases reported by the Merced County Department of Public Health on Thursday was also a record, although a look at the local COVID-19 data dashboard may prove confusing.
That’s because the last time the cases were so high — the tall spike of 674 cases on Dec. 23, 2020 — included the addition of old COVID-19 infections that hadn’t previously been tallied by County Public Health. The true daily case count fell short of the prior record of 384 on Dec. 14, 2020.
Saturday’s new record tally, which rose above even the misleading peak of Dec. 23, 2020, was not influenced by the addition of any old cases, the Merced County Department of Public Health confirmed to the Sun-Star.
New infections have consistently fallen since Jan. 8, but still remain high at 432 cases recorded Sunday and 328 Monday.
Latest Merced County COVID-19 data
The onslaught of rising COVID-19 infections in recent days rocketed Merced County’s total case count since the pandemic’s start to 50,999 as of Monday, according to the most recent data reported by County Public Health on Tuesday.
Nearly 3,000 new cases have been confirmed locally since last Monday, when the caseload stood at 48,055.
The omicron variant is at least two to four times more transmissible than the previously dominant delta variant. California Department of Public Health data shows that omicron made up 76% of sequenced cases for the week ending Dec. 26. On Dec. 12, it was 4%.
The dramatic rise in new infections boosted the number of cases presumed active to 4,123 as of Monday. Infections among residents age 17 or younger are estimated at 1,534. One week ago, estimated total active infections stood at 1,554 and active pediatric cases at 291.
With in-person classes now back in session in Merced County, local education officials say all local K-12 school districts have picked up COVID test kits, available to students and families upon request.
Merced County Office of Education received 51,000 rapid COVID-19 test kits from the state last week. Parents or families who are interested in getting a test kit should contact their local district or school.
Following suit, other key COVID-19 metrics are also indicating the virus’s swift spread. New daily cases in Merced County increased to 62.7 per 100,000 on Monday from 23.2 one week ago. The local positivity rate ascended to 20.5% from 17.2% during the same period.
The number of people getting tested for COVID-19 in Merced County has seen a sharp uptick as well, ascending from 236 tests per 100,000 residents one week ago to 358.9 on Monday.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations of county residents due to severe cases of the virus nearly doubled to 40 patients. According to state data, just two of Merced County’s intensive care unit beds were free as of Monday.
COVID-19 cases that progressed to the point of death grew by seven since last week. A total of 713 Merced County lives have been claimed by the virus to date.
About 49% of the county’s eligible population, meaning individuals age five and older, is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Statewide, the average is about 72%.
The most recent state data reports that unvaccinated individuals are about four times as likely to contract COVID-19, 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 17 times more likely to die.
Research appears to show that omicron sends a lower proportion of infected people to hospitals with severe illness compared to delta. But because the variant is so infectious, health officials warn that it still poses a serious risk to health care systems — especially as many individuals throughout parts of California, like Merced County, remain unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Information about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine or test is available on the Merced County Department of Public Health’s website.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 5:28 PM.
