MERCED (BLJ) – Merced County Public Health Department on July 3 reported 1,208 cases (156 new since July 1) of Covid 19, and 11 deaths.

California reported 248,235 cases (8,040 new) and 6,263 deaths (100 new).

Arizona reported 87,425 cases (3,333 new) and 1,757 deaths (37 new).

Texas reported 175,977 cases (7,915 new) and 2,525 deaths (44 new).

Florida reported 178,594 cases (9,488 new) and 3,684 deaths (67 new).

The United States reported 2,844,072 cases (102,231 new) and 131,416 deaths (1,269 new).

MERCED (BLJ) – The Merced County Public Health Department on July 8 reported 1,702 cases of coronavirus (79 new since Tuesday), and 12 deaths.

California reported 289,468 cases Thursday morning (11,537 new) and 6,563 deaths (110 new).

The United States reported 3,109,500 cases (55,409 new) and 134,209 deaths (856 new).

The global count for the morning is 3.068,034 cases (270,831 new), and 550,159 deaths (6,564 new).

MERCED (BLJ)—On July 13, Merced County Public Health Department reported 2,012 cases of coronavirus (310 new cases in 5 days) and 12 deaths.

California reported 329,162 cases (8,358 new) and 7,040 deaths (23 new deaths on Monday).

The United States reported 3,428,462 cases (61,947 new) and 137,613 deaths (422 new).

The global count was 12,945,505 cases (437,656 new) and 571,444 deaths (10,984 new).

Badlands Journal warned readers in "Virus notes: July 8 -- Take care”:

For several weeks, County public health has operated on the following protocol rather than on contact tracing:

When a facility is determined to be in an outbreak protocol, the Merced County Department of Public Health works closely with the facility to mitigate the spread of disease. Affected close contacts are contacted by the facility/employer.

MERCED (BLJ) – On July 22 Merced County Public Health Department reported 2,994 cases of coronavirus, and 26 deaths.

California reported 413,576 cases (12,807 new) and 7,883 deaths (128 new).

The United States reported 4,038,967 cases (68,296 new) and 145,384 deaths (1,213 new).

The global report for July 22 is 15,077,182 cases (170,580 new) and 620,257 deaths (4,503 new).

Mexico reported 362,274 cases (6,019 new) and 41,190 deaths (790 new).

Canada reported 112,240 cases (543 new) and 8,870 deaths (8 new).

The next time local media is presented with an additional dose of county-health obfuscation, we suggest some  questions:

1. Is any contact tracing going on in the county?

2. How many tests are available to the public per day?

3. Have screening protocols changed since April?

4. What kind of tests are available to the public in Merced County, virus or antibody?

5. How long does it take for test results?