Nine more COVID-related deaths in Kern County as Governor Gavin Newsom talks reopening There were 138 new cases of COVID-19 23ABC Digital and last updated 2021-03-04 19:58:22-05 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) â Kern County Public Health officials reported more people in the community have died in relation to COVID-19. Nine more deaths were reported today in Kern County. That marks 924 lives lost in total. But health officials want people to know there is a backlog in reporting so this data is just now appearing in the daily numbers. There were 138 new cases of COVID-19 announced Thursday. That marks nearly 104,000 cases in the county since the pandemic started.