Merced County reports one COVID-19 death, 78 new cases on Monday

The Merced County Department of Public Health reported one new COVID-19 related death Monday afternoon, raising the number of fatalities to 459 since the start of the pandemic.

The reported death was a man age 65 or older with an underlying health condition.

The county reported 78 new positive novel coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of residents infected by the virus to 31,821 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to COVID-19 is nine, with two people in the ICU.

According to the state, Merced County hospitals had two ICU beds available as of Sunday.

Merced County has a positivity rate of 3.2%, indicating the level of people among those tested who had a positive result.

According to the county’s dashboard, 29% of eligible residents have been fully vaccinated.