Press Release: August 6, 2020
PRESS RELEASE: Coronavirus COVID-19
August 6, 2020
Somervell County, Texas now has a total of 109 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 23 of our residents currently have active infections. We currently have one patient in the hospital, and all other active cases are currently under in-home isolation and care. Unfortunately, a patient died from COVID-19 related complications while hospitalized at Glen Rose Medical Center, and 3 other deaths have occurred, 1 with COVID-19 as the cause of death, 2 had causes of death unrelated to their COVID-19 infection. All of these patients had significant medical problems and/or risk factors. We would like to express our condolences to all the families affected by these deaths. At some point one of the COVID-19 related deaths may be assigned to another county pending determination of the patient’s primary residence, per State of Texas guidelines. We have had 84 residents recover from this illness. We currently have one patient hospitalized with COVID-19 at GRMC.
We currently have significant evidence of community and institutional spread in Somervell County, as well as in our neighboring counties. This does continue to increase the risk level to all Somervell County residents. Contact tracer activity is ongoing with all new positive results, and all results are being reported to the State of Texas per DSHS guidelines.
COVID-19 will continue to impact our community. As we get ready to go back to school, I would like to remind people that social distancing, aggressive hand hygiene, and wearing masks in appropriate situations, are the best ways to protect themselves from getting the virus, but also to protect others, in the event that they might have gotten infected, and just do not have and symptoms yet.
Please be mindful that we are all neighbors, respect the privacy of others and follow HIPAA guidelines. It is Glen Rose Medical Center’s policy not to release any demographic or patient information due to HIPAA law.
Want to know more?
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) website and Texas 2-1-1 remain the best sources of information for Somervell residents regarding COVID-19 testing and self-protection measures. DSHS updates their county-by-county tracking map daily at https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/.
As a community, I am hopeful that we may have reached a peak. We will know a lot more in the coming week. It is very hard to predict, what will happen when we go back to school, and we will watch our community very closely. I feel very comfortable in saying that I believe Mr. Rotan, teachers, and staff of GRISD are doing everything they can to decrease the risks that this infection will pose to our children, and by extension, to our families. This plan is very thorough, and comprehensive. It also mitigates risks to our teachers and staff and will help to keep them healthy as well. Parents, please recognize, that if your child is ill, it is not ok to give them Tylenol or ibuprofen in order to get them to school. Please keep your children home if they are sick.
Unfortunately, further deaths in our community from COVID-19 are going to be difficult to avoid. Please continue to work together to minimize these risks. Ss a community, look out for the safety and well-being of each other, especially the elderly and frail in our community. Please wear masks in appropriate settings, practice social distancing, and good hand hygiene. (I know I said that before……. but it is worth repeating!)
I appreciate you all for your continued time and efforts in fighting this disease, none of us are in this alone. Together we can keep our community strong, safe, and moving forward.
Thank you!
Steven Vacek, M.D.
Glen Rose HealthCare Inc.
Somervell County Local Health Authority