MADERA — Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) reported four more confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total number of cases countywide to 98.
In terms of new local cases, it’s been one of the worst weeks since the pandemic began. MCDPH has confirmed 14 new cases since Monday, four to five a day for the past three days, a spike that Sara Bosse, the County’s heath director said this week is “concerning.”
“We’re watching that closely,” Bosse said, adding that since the pandemic began, the county has been averaging between 0 and 2 cases a day.
Bosse also said that starting next week, MCDPH officials will begin reporting more specific geographical information regarding where virus victims live.
Thursday’s newest cases include three females in their 30s, 50s and 60s and one man in his 80s. The man’s condition is serious enough to require hospitalization, according to MCDPH.
With Madera County moving deeper into phase 2 of the governor’s so-called “Road Map to Reopening,” Dr. Simon Paul, the county’s health officer, cautioned county residents on Wednesday to be prudent when going out into the public again. “We still want people to be really careful when they’ve out doing stuff,” Dr. Paul said. “Avoiding large gatherings, practicing social distancing and wearing face masks is still very important.”
MCDPH also reported Thursday that 25 cases remain “active” while 71 county residents who contracted the virus have now recovered.
Three of the active cases, including the one reported Thursday, have required hospitalization.
Two Madera County residents, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 70s, died in late March from COVID-19. Both of those victims reportedly had underlying health conditions. Two other local residents, a man in his 30s and another male under 20, were removed from the confirmed case list in the last week after their initial tests were deemed “false positives.”
For the latest update from MCDPH, click here.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, there were 103,605 confirmed COVID-19 cases across California, with the total number of deaths statewide now at 3,983.
Nationwide, according to Johns Hopkins, there have been 1.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases, with the U.S. death toll on Wednesday surpassing the 100,000 mark. As of Thursday afternoon, the U.S. death toll stood at 101, 562.