Merced County reports 93 new coronavirus cases, total cases since pandemic began reach 1,623
The Merced County Department of Public Health reported 93 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases reported since March 22 to 1,623.
There have been no new coronavirus-related deaths reported, leaving the total number dead at 11. According to health officials, it is estimated that 913 people locally are actively infected.
Active cases are defined by County Public Health as those cases confirmed within the last two weeks.
Officials have said due to the rapid case increase, they have suspended active case management and are no longer able to clear individual cases or accurately track recoveries. The “probable active” case count is an estimate.
Of individuals tested locally, 9.6% have tested positive. According to health department data, 30 people are actively hospitalized, while 128 Merced County residents have been hospitalized during the pandemic.
Most of California is seeing a spike in coronavirus activity that began in mid-June. Some Valley health leaders attributed the beginning of that spike to too many group gatherings among friends and extended family members, such as birthday and graduation parties, with little social distancing being observed beginning around Memorial Day weekend in late May.
In response to elevated case numbers and hospitalizations, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week ordered 19 counties including Merced to immediately close all bars and a number of indoor businesses for at least three weeks.
Around the Valley
The central San Joaquin Valley’s six-county region has reported more 17,000 cases to date and at least 276 deaths.
The central San Joaquin Valley is at an all-time high for confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized with 326 as of Monday. The previous high was the day before at 304. Fifty-eight of those patients are in intensive-care, according to numbers from the California Department of Public Health.
Fresno County added three deaths and 325 positive cases Tuesday to its running tally for the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s a total of 6,924 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, and 81 people have died in Fresno County from complications related to the virus.
Of the positive cases in Fresno County, 1,454 people have recovered and 415 had to be hospitalized. Fresno also hit an all-time high point for confirmed cases currently in a hospital — 148.
Tulare County reported 166 new cases Tuesday morning, which brings the total to 5,175. Three more deaths reported Tuesday increased the total to 139.
Mariposa County health officials said Tuesday there were no changes to the 31 cases and single death to date.
Madera County added 56 cases to Monday and 15 on Tuesday, which totals 784 to date. No change was reported to the seven fatal cases.
Kings County’s Tuesday update is still to come.
Almost 3 million people in the country have tested positive for COVID-19, including more than 270,000 people in California, according to The COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University CSSE. More than 6,400 Californians have died and there have been more than 131,000 fatal cases nationally.
As of Tuesday, there have been 271,889 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,446 deaths in the state of California.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 6:31 PM.