Coronvirus update: Merced County reports two new COVID-19 deaths, 79 new cases
.jpg)
The Merced County Department of Public Health reported two new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday afternoon, bringing the total deaths to 384 since the start of the pandemic.
Of the latest deaths, two were women, over the age of 65. Both of the deceased were known to have underlying health conditions.
Merced County also reported 79 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of residents who have been infected by the virus to 28,385.
There are 1,367 Merced County residents estimated to be actively infected — a drop of 296 cases since last week.
The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to the coronavirus is 31 — an decrease of six cases since seven days ago — with 15 people in the ICU.
According to the state, Merced County hospitals had two ICU beds remaining as of Wednesday.
Merced County currently has a positivity rate of 7.1%, meaning the level of people among those who’ve been tested who had a positive result. That’s a decrease from 8.9% a week ago.
Weather delays vaccination supply
Supply and delivery schedules have been thrown into question by the extreme winter weather conditions that are impacting most of the rest of the contiguous United States.
Local health officials in some jurisdictions across California, including San Diego and San Luis Obispo counties, have already reported shipments that did not arrive on time. Officials in Sacramento County say there’s uncertainty about whether next week’s doses will proceed on schedule, and it will likely depend on whether or not they arrive by Friday.
Several major distribution hubs have been affected by snow and deep freeze, leading the CDC to warn of possible “widespread” delays.
One White House official told McClatchyDC the hope is that shipments will be delayed no more than 48 hours, if weather begins to cooperate soon. Forecasts call for severe “arctic blast” storm conditions to continue through Friday.
Around the Valley
Fresno County: 192 new infections, 93,555 to date; seven new deaths, 1,356 to date.
Stanislaus County: 84 new cases, 49,350 to date; 6 new deaths, 916 to date.
Kings County: 24 new cases, 21,770 to date; no additional deaths, 213 to date.
Madera County: 45 new cases, 15,118 to date; no additional deaths, 201 to date.
Tulare County: 91 new cases, 47311 to date; 11 additional deaths, 717 to date.
Mariposa County: One new case, 398 to date; no additional deaths, seven to date.
With updates provided through mid-afternoon Thursday, the Valley has accumulated more than 206,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic reached the region 11 1/2 months ago, whether they experienced symptoms or not. Across the six counties, 2,878 deaths have been blamed on the coronavirus, based on causes of death reported on residents’ death certificates.
The Fresno Bee and Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
