Second Merced County resident tests positive for coronavirus, officials say
A second positive case of coronavirus contracted by a Merced County resident was confirmed Wednesday, according to a news release by the Merced County Department of Public Health.
“The individual contracted the virus out of the county and was not community acquired,” the release said.
The county cannot comment further on where the infected person traveled outside of Merced County, said Merced County Public Health Director Dr. Rebecca Nanyonjo-Kemp.
The county cannot say when the person began showing symptoms either, but Nanyonjo-Kemp said the individual was not in the county while experiencing symptoms.
“The individual was not in Merced County during the dates that they (other residents) would have been exposed,” she said.
The individual is recovering at home in Merced County while self-isolating.
The infected individual lives on the west side of the county, according to Nanyonjo-Kemp. Public Health is limited in further disclosing where the individual lives on account of patient confidentiality.
Merced County Public Health is tracing who else may be at risk of exposure as a result of contact with the COVID-19 positive individual.
On Sunday, public health officials said the first Merced County resident tested positive for coronavirus. They said that person contracted the virus while traveling domestically outside of California.
Nanyonjo-Kemp did not specify where in the county the first infected individual lives, but said it is in a different area than the second individual.
All persons possibly affected by exposure to the individual have been contacted, Public Health officials said.
A City of Merced public safety officer also tested positive last week. That case was not included in Merced County’s numbers on account of the individual living in Madera County.
A day later, a courtroom inside the Merced County Courthouse was disinfected after possible exposure to the disease from the infected individual. A case taking place in the courtroom was declared a mistrial.
A Court release urged Merced residents to avoid the Courthouse if possible. The clerk’s offices are closed to the public, excluding essential filings including restraining orders, emergency petitions and emergency ex-parte requests.
One UC Merced student tested negative for COVID-19 after showing symptoms. A second is still waiting for test results while self-quarantined off campus.
Nanyonjo-Kemp said it is unknown when the student’s test results will be available.
Nearby Valley counties tally more confirmed cases than Merced. Fresno and Tulare counties number 18 positive cases, Stanislaus County counts 11 and Madera County has six.
However, a shortage of testing kits in Merced County, as well as statewide and nationally, has created only a partial picture of the true number of individuals with COVID-19. Insufficient quantities of nasal swabs, viral transport medium and protective equipment for medical professionals are among the scarce supplies.
“We have a few more than we’ve had over the past several months,” Nanyonjo-Kemp said of testing supplies, but noted that testing is still a struggle. “A low supply does not really capture the level of the need we have,” she added.
“You have to make the best of the resources you have,” she said. That means making decisions judiciously and triaging the most critical patients.
Plans to screen more patients through public health with a drive-through style test are being put in place, but are currently in their infancy, Nanyonjo-Kemp said. The plan is contingent upon receiving more test supplies.
Nanyonjo-Kemp urged the public to continue to practice preventative social distancing and isolation, which have showed to be effective in curbing the coronavirus pandemic’s spread.
“We have a social responsibility to keep the most vulnerable and each other safe,” she said.
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Second Merced County resident tests positive for coronavirus, officials say."
