Coronavirus update: New infections at lowest rate since Dec. 1 in Merced County
The spread of the coronavirus is showing signs of slowing in Merced County and California as a whole, where infection rates have dropped substantially from the peak of the winter surge.
Merced County currently has a positivity rate of 10.7 percent, meaning the level of people among those who’ve been tested who had a positive result.
That’s a decrease from 12.4 percent a week ago. The current positivity rate is the lowest in Merced County since it was 9.6 percent on Dec. 1.
The county currently has 44 daily cases of the virus per 100,000 residents.
Merced County has a ways to go before it can be removed from the state’s purple tier — the most restrictive level for businesses in California counties under the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Before Merced County can move into the less restrictive red tier, the case rate would need to plunge to seven or fewer new cases per 100,000 people; the positivity rate needs to fall to 8% or less.
Statewide, test positivity has declined by half in less than a month, falling from a two-week average of 14% on Jan. 8 to 6.9% as of Thursday’s update from the California Department of Public Health. The latter matches California’s lowest positivity rate since Dec. 1.
New COVID-19 cases, which poured in at a pace of more than 40,000 per day over the first two weeks of 2021, averaged under 19,000 over the past two weeks. The state on Wednesday reported just 10,501 new cases, the fewest reported in a day since before Thanksgiving, followed by a little over 13,000 on Thursday.
The same trend is happening in Merced County. During the first week of 2021, there were 1,695 new cases reported in Merced County. In the past week there have been 980 new cases reported in the county.
No new deaths reported
The Merced County Department of Public Health reported no new deaths on Thursday. The total deaths remain at 359 since the start of the pandemic.
On Thursday there were 104 new cases reported, bringing the total number of cases to 27,018 residents who have been infected with the virus since the start of the pandemic.
There are currently 2,230 Merced County residents estimated to be actively infected — a drop of 249 cases since Monday. That’s also a drop of 609 cases since a week ago.
The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to the virus is 35 — a decrease of three cases since Wednesday — with 19 people in the ICU.
According to the state, Merced County hospitals had four ICU beds remaining as of Wednesday.
Sutter Health expands vaccination to patients 65-and-older
Sutter Health patients 65-and-older can now schedule COVID-19 vaccinations.
Memorial Hospital in Los Banos is a Sutter Health affiliate.
“We are rolling up our sleeves so more patients can roll up theirs,” Sutter Health said in a press release. “At this time, we are prioritizing our patients who are 65-plus years of age and community healthcare workers.”
Eligible Sutter patients can self-schedule through Sutter’s online patient portal, called My Health Online, or through a dedicated hotline: 844-987-6115.
For more info on how Sutter patients can schedule their COVID-19 vaccination, go to https://www.sutterhealth.org/for-patients/health-alerts/covid-19-vaccine.
Around the Valley
Fresno County had an increase of 206 new confirmed coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 89,748 cases since the start of the pandemic.. There was also 26 additional deaths reported on Thursday. Since the start of the pandemic 1,224 have died.
Stanislaus County reported five new deaths on Thursday, bringing the total deaths to 853 since the start of the pandemic. There were 227 new cases reported, raising the total number of cases to 46,976 since the start of the pandemic.
Kings County: 87 new cases, 20,981 to date; 12 additional deaths, 189 to date. Nearly 7,200 of the confirmed cases, and 17 deaths, have been among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 78 new cases, 14,587 to date; no additional deaths, 184 to date.
Mariposa County: One new case, 374 to date; no additional deaths, five to date.
Tulare County: 106 new cases, 45,647 to date; 13 additional deaths, 623 to date.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 6:23 PM.
