Two seniors are the latest Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total number to eight in Monterey County.

A 74-year-old Latina woman and an 89-year-old African American man, both from the Salinas area, are the latest to die from complications due to Covid-19, according to Monterey County officials. That brings the total number of deaths in the county to eight since the first virus-related dealth was reported on March 21.

Monterey County Health Officer Edward Moreno shared the news of the latest deaths with reporters on Friday, May 15, and said that both patients had pre-existing conditions. The ages and ethnicities were made available by the Monterey County Coroner’s Office.

The total number of confirmed cases as of Friday afternoon was 322, with over 60 percent of those patients living in the Salinas area. Forty one percent of the cases are among people working in the agriculture industry. Seventy-seven percent of the people with confirmed cases identify as Hispanic or Latino. (That is disproportionate to the county's overall population, which is 59-percent Latino, according to U.S. Census data.)

Approximately 50 percent of the cases are among young people between the ages of 24 and 44; another 17 percent of cases have been in people between the ages of 45-54; and 23 percent in ages of 55 or older.

Fifty one percent of the cases are now listed as “recovered.” The report also listed 46 people as having been hospitalized so far since March. 

A complete report is available here.