Press Release: July 21, 2020
PRESS RELEASE: Coronavirus COVID-19
July 21, 2020
Somervell County, Texas now has a total of 59 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 16 of our residents currently have active infections. We currently have one patient in the hospital, and all other active cases are currently under home isolation and care. We have had 43 residents recover from this illness, including two that required hospitalization. We also have several probable cases that are under further investigation. These patients are in home isolation while being evaluated further. We currently have limited evidence of community spread, however investigations are ongoing into several new cases. Contact tracer activity is ongoing.
Recently, Somervell County has fared well in comparison to some of our neighbors. Our active cases had been dropping steadily. Unfortunately, we are on a small island surrounded by communities with obvious community wide, ongoing spread. This will continue to impact our community. We need to continue to do our best to take care of each other, wash/sanitize our hands, wear our masks, practice respectful social distancing and look out for the vulnerable amongst us.
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, we will continue to experience more disease, and eventually someone in our community will become our first death from this disease. I believe that deaths in our community from COVID-19 are going to be unavoidable. The only way to minimize these risks, is for people to look out for the safety and well-being of each other, especially the elderly and frail in our community. This will be inconvenient for some to do. I ask that we all do it anyway.
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