Merced courtroom being ‘disinfected’ after possible coronavirus exposure, officials say

A courtroom inside the Merced County Superior Court is being disinfected after possible exposure to coronavirus, court officials said Friday.

The announcement by the court came one day after Merced’s city manager confirmed to the Sun-Star that a public safety officer had tested positive for the virus.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told the Sun-Star that person was a Merced police officer who lives in Madera County.

Warnke also said the officer had contact with others at the Merced County Superior Court. As a result a mistrial was declared after it was learned that person’s COVID-19 test was positive.

The Merced County Department of Public Health is working to trace who else the COVID-19 infected individual was in contact with.

A news release sent Friday by the court acknowledged the possible exposure, which happened in the building’s Courtroom 1 .

“During a trial in Courtroom 1, the Court was made aware of a possible cross-infection with the COVID-19 virus involving a participant,” the release says. “The judge declared a mistrial and advised those present to contact the Department of Public Health and/or their health care provider.”

On Thursday, the Merced County Superior Court announced it was suspending all new trials starting March 24. Ongoing trials will continue.

Court officials haven’t said whether the decision to suspend new trials was related to the possible exposure.

Some Merced residents expressed confusion over Merced County continuing to report zero confirmed COVID-19 cases in Merced on Thursday despite the Merced police officer testing positive.

“Since the individual does not live in Merced County, it does not count toward Merced County’s total number of confirmed cases,” said Merced County Public Information Officer Mike North.

North said that accurate data is especially important during a situation like this, and consistent methods must be employed to avoid double counting.

“Is there an impact to our county and our citizens?” he said. “Of course, yes.”

A news release by the Madera County Department of Public Health announced two new confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday. Both individuals belong to the same family, according to the release.

“Due to protected health information requirements and to protect the patient’s identity, we are not able to further disclose information about these COVID-19 cases,” the release said.

The two individuals haven’t left the county in recent days, but one of the two patients had more exposure to the community than the other, the Fresno Bee reported. Both are in stable condition.

The two new cases represent the first known examples of community transmission in Madera County, and bring the number of confirmed cases to three.

City of Merced increases response

City of Merced employees began to work remotely Friday, according to a city news release. City Hall closed to the public earlier this week.

“All of these actions are to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” said City Manager Steve Carrigan in the release. “We have heard the forecasts, and we want to do our part.”

Police, fire, refuse, sewer and water are not affected, the release says.

The city also moved from a Level Three emergency response to a Level Two, said Merced Fire Chief Billy Alcorn, who also oversees the city’s Emergency Operations Center.

The increase means more effort will go toward emergency planning and logistics, more resources will be committed and more staff will be brought on.

Alcorn said the city has 20 to 30 staff are committed to the Emergency Operations Center.

A Level One is the highest emergency response, with around-the-clock agency-wide effort, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The CDC has activated four Level One responses: during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, the 2014 Ebola outbreak and the 2016 Zika virus response.

“A Level One is a full blown activation,” Alcorn said. “We’re not there yet,” he added.

Alcorn said the Merced EOC has also recently reviewed its Continuity of Operations Plan, which prioritizes each department’s essential services, its Emergency Operations Plan, which outlines staff’s roles during an emergency, and its Infection Control Plan, which identifies preparations for transmittable disease.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.