Delta still dominates new California COVID-19 cases. Here’s Merced County’s latest data
A new strain of COVID-19 now identified by the World Health Organization as a “variant of concern” has yet to be found in California or the United States.
But it’s an existing variant, the Delta strain, that continues to represent a clear and present danger in the U.S. as it’s been responsible for almost all of the new coronavirus cases reported in the state and nation since August.
The new B.1.1.529 strain, dubbed Omicron under the Greek alphabet scheme for naming variants, first surfaced in countries on the southern part of the African continent in recent weeks and was initially reported to the WHO by South African scientists.
Omicron remains a mystery because it is so new and so little is known about whether it is more contagious, causes more severe illness, or is more resistant to existing coronavirus vaccines or treatments.
“It is not clear yet whether Omicron is more transmissible (more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta,” the WHO reported on Sunday. “The number of people testing positive has risen in areas of South Africa affected by this variant, but epidemiologic studies are underway to understand if it is because of Omicron or other factors.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported over the weekend that no cases of the Omicron variant have been identified in the United States to date. The agency added that it is continuously monitoring variants and that the nation’s surveillance system for new coronavirus strains “has reliably detected new variants in this country.”
“We expect Omicron to be identified quickly, if it emerges in the U.S.,” the CDC said in a statement.
Delta still on the rampage
In the meantime, the Delta, or B.167.2 variant,which was first detected more than a year ago in India and has since made its way around the world — is by far the dominant strain of coronavirus in the latest surge of cases that began over the summer in California.
The state Department of Public Health reports that of the positive COVID-19 tests sent to labs in November for more advanced genomic sequencing to determine what variant they are, 99.7% were the Delta variant.
Through mid-November, more than 166,000 cases of COVID-19 in California were confirmed to be caused by the Delta variant. But because a relatively small percentage of positive coronavirus tests are submitted for sequencing, public health officials believe the actual number of Delta-related cases is likely much higher.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 99.9% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were from the Delta variant in the week ending Nov. 20. The percentage of cases attributable to Delta across the country has been at or above 98% since August.
‘No reason to panic,’ but shots urged
A large number of mutations in the Omicron variant are adding to the uncertainty over its possible effects, according to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health. The online magazine Slate reported that Collins, in Sunday television appearances on both CNN and Fox News, called for caution against overreacting but urged people to get vaccinated or receive booster shots.
“There’s no reason to panic, but it’s a great reason to get boosted,” Francis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” news show.
“It’s clear that in all the previous examples of variants, the vaccines have worked to provide protection and the boosters have provided especially strong protection against things like Delta,” Collins said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Other variants in California
While Delta dominates the coronavirus landscape and Omicron remains an unknown factor to date, other coronavirus variants tracked by the California Department of Public Health include:
- The Alpha, or B.1.1.7 variant that was first documented in the United Kingdom in September 2020. Through last week, 17,601 coronavirus cases in California were caused by the Alpha variant, but since August has represented less than 1% of positive COVID-19 test samples analyzed each month by state genomic sequencing labs.
- The Beta, or B.1.351 variant initially detected in South Africa in May 2020. Only about 216 cases of the Beta variant have been confirmed through testing in California, and at no point did it represent even 1% of monthly tests sequenced.
- The Gamma, or P.1 variant that emerged in Brazil in January 2021. The Gamma variant is blamed for causing 3,964 confirmed cases in the state.
- The Epsilon, or the closely related B.1.427 and B.1.429 “West Coast” variants that rose together in California in February 2021. While it’s not even a blip on the viral radar now, it was connected to more than 32,450 confirmed coronavirus cases in California.
Latest on COVID-19 in Merced County
Vaccinations of eligible Merced County residents age 5 and older remained at 50.40% as of Monday, marking no change since the prior week, the most recent data from the Merced County Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday.
Since the first known case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Merced County during March of 2020, 45,466 total cases have since been documented, County Public Health reported.
Of those more than 45,000 cases, 671 have ended in death. Merced County averaged .6 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 residents over the last week, compared to the statewide average of .1 deaths, according to state data.
The county’s case wave that began over summer has in recent weeks begun to more consistently trend downwards, marking a drawn out recovery that was slower in pace compared to many other parts of the state.
No more than 60 new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Merced County on any given day over the last week. From July through much of November, daily counts exceeding 100 new cases were common.
A total of 720 active COVID-19 cases were estimated active as of Monday — down by about 100 cases compared to a week earlier, according to County Public Health data. Patients age 17 or younger made up 187 of those cases, representing a drop from the 226 pediatric cases tallied one week ago.
Outbreaks fell by one active location to 42 sites since the prior Monday.
Merced County’s positivity rate averaged 6.40% over the last seven days, the same as last week. California overall averaged 3% testing positivity during the past week, state data reported.
The county’s new daily cases per 100,000 residents rose slightly from 16.30 one week ago to 18.10 as of Monday, according to County Public Health. The statewide average clocked in at 9.5 cases per 100,000 during the same period, according to state data.
Active hospitalizations of residents for severe COVID-19 cases decreased by four patients since last week to 25 total as of Monday.
Hospitalizations across the county left three free and staffed intensive care unit beds available between the area’s two hospitals.
Regionally, the San Joaquin Valley’s overall ICU capacity improved slightly to 14.20% from 12.70% last week. Still, the Valley’s ICU capacity continues to lag behind other California regions.
The Greater Sacramento region reported the next lowest ICU availability at a notably higher 21.70%. The statewide average came to 25.6% as of Monday, according to state data.
The Fresno Bee’s Tim Sheehan contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 1:00 PM.
