Merced County’s total coronavirus cases surpasses 30,000. Two new deaths reported Wednesday
Merced County on Wednesday passed more than 30,000 documented coronavirus cases reported since the start of the pandemic, according to Department of Public Health data.
The county’s COVID death toll stands at 425 – an increase of two from Tuesday.. According to the health department, the recent deaths were a man and woman over age 65. Both had underlying health conditions. The county reported 48 new infections Wednesday.
The county’s total pandemic caseload since March last year stands at 30,027 residents who at some point were infected. There are 763 residents estimated to be currently infected — 21 less infections than reported by the county Tuesday.
There are currently 21 county residents hospitalized due to the virus – an increase of one from Tuesday’s data. Merced County’s positivity rate is 6.6%, which represents the seven-day average of all COVID-19 tests performed that test positive.
Merced County remains in the most restrictive tier — purple Tier 1 — of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy based on risk of viral transmission in the county.
According to the State of California, Merced County hospitals had six people in the ICU, with 10 ICU beds remaining as of Tuesday’s data. According to the health department, about 7.1% of Merced’s total population has received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Also on Wednesday, Mariposa County reported its 400th case over the past year.
Updated statewide figures showed there have been 3,532,496 confirmed cases in California and 55,577 deaths.
Around the Valley
In other central San Joaquin Valley counties, Wednesday updates included:
Kings County: 16 new cases, 22,424 to date; no additional deaths, 236 to date. More than 7,200 of the cases, and 17 deaths, have been among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: Four new cases, 15,741 to date; no additional deaths, 226 to date. The figures include almost 2,500 cases among inmates at state prisons near Chowchilla.
Mariposa County: One new case, 400 to date; no additional deaths, seven to date.
Stanislaus County: Reported 91 new cases on Tuesday, 51,839 to date, 976 deaths to date — an increase of two from Tuesday.
Tulare County: 42 new cases, 48,691 to date; one additional death, 788 to date.
Since the first Valley cases of the global COVID-19 pandemic were reported 12 months ago, almost 215,000 people across the six-county region are confirmed to have had the virus, whether they experienced symptoms or not. Of those, 3,225 people have died.