PRESS RELEASE: COVID-19

October 1, 2020

Somervell County, Texas now has a total of 196 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the number of residents currently in home isolation with active cases has dropped to 4.  This number of active cases has gone up from 2 weeks ago, when briefly, we had no active cases in our county.  None of the patients are hospitalized at this time.  Using the guidelines from the State of Texas DSHS, we currently have 3 county residents who have died as a result of their COVID-19 infections.  You may notice that the “official” state number, and our number differ at this time.  We are working to reconcile those differences, and I will report them if they change.  We have had 189 residents recover from this illness.

The most recent testing data from Glen Rose Medical Center is unavailable at the time of this release.  In general, there has been a steady decline in the percent positive testing rate.  This decline is similar to what we are experiencing statewide.  When these numbers are available, I will have them posted.  The number of repeat tests will be going up, as people will need to test negative, prior to being allowed to visit loved ones in nursing homes or assisted living facilities.  This will be repeated every two weeks according to current guidelines.

We continue to have evidence of community and family spread in Somervell County.  Neighboring counties also have significant spread occurring. Overall, the activity of the virus in our county appears to be decreasing.  The risk level to all Somervell County residents is moderate.  However, due to our proximity to counties with a higher level of cases and community spread, we need to remain vigilant.  Contact tracer activity is ongoing with all new positive results, and all results are being reported to the State of Texas per DSHS guidelines.  Most contact tracing is performed by Texas Health Trace, and can be initiated online if patients wish.

COVID-19 will continue to impact our community.  So far, there has been a very limited number of cases identified in our schools.  The response of the school district has been swift and appropriate, with contact tracing and isolation of affected and exposed individuals.  At this time, there is no evidence of any infection resulting from an exposure through GRISD activities or campuses.  All infections identified in students or staff were acquired outside of school activities or locations.

Statewide, numbers continue to decline, but the rate of decline has slowed.  We are still far above the May-June baseline for numbers of new cases per day.  Wearing a mask when appropriate, as well as good hand hygiene, and social distancing remain our best weapons to prevent spread, until an effective vaccine is available.  The fastest way back to “normal” living will be an aggressive vaccination campaign with effective vaccines.

Please be mindful that we are all neighbors, please respect the privacy of others.  The hospital, county, city and school districts are all required to follow HIPAA rules.  It is Glen Rose Medical Center’s policy not to release any demographic or patient information due to HIPAA laws.

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/.