COVID-19 cases climb by five overnight in Milam County
The COVID-19 count has passed 50 in Milam County this week, with the biggest number added in one day yesterday, when five new cases were identified.
"Last evening we got confirmation on five new cases in Milam County, with one new hospitalization," Milam County Judge Steve Young announed early Thursday morning, June 18. "This brings the total to 56 confirmed cases in the county with 17 active cases."
“We added three more cases on Tuesday evening, June 16,” Young said. “We learned of three more confirmed cases of the virus in Milam County. These are all Milam County residents who live in the central part of the county and we think that all three were infected by community spread, meaning the infection came from someone else located in our community. All three are self-quarantined at home and we are hopeful for a speedy recovery."
This brings the county’s case count to 56 confirmed cases in the county since March 2020 with 17 active cases. Young said 71 county residents are considered at high risk because of their close contact with an infected person and are currently being monitored by the Milam County Health Department. Cases across Texas are now up to 93,206 confirmed cases since March 3. That is an increase of 5,352 in the last 24 hours across the state with a total of 2,029 deaths and an estimated 59,089 recoveries. Texas now ranks sixth in the number of cases in the nation.
“Don’t play with fire,” Young reminded county residents. “Please do your part by keeping your distance of six feet from others, wearing a mask, and using proper hygiene, especially frequent hand washing.”
“Last week we had 10 new confirmed cases of the virus in the county,” Young said on Monday. “This is the most we have had thus far in one week. We anticipate more cases this week. The cases have come from every part of the county. Confirmed cases have been reported from residents in Buckholts, Thorndale, Rockdale, Milano, Gause, Marlow, Burlington, Cameron and many places in between. The virus can be anywhere, so be careful.”
Young said additional free testing will be done as follows: Rockdale on June 29 at the Rockdale Hospital, 1700 Brazos Ave., Rockdale; Milano on June 30 at the Milano Fire Station, 305 E U.S. 79, Milano; Cameron on July 1 at the Cameron Fire Station, 1505 N. Travis, Cameron.
Testing was recently done for all the residents and staff at each of the nursing homes in the county; Legacy, Winnie L. Nursing and Renaissance Villa. Young said that so far all of the tests have been negative, although there are four tests that are still outstanding.
Governor’s update
Governor Greg Abbott and Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs of the University of Texas System John Zerwas, MD, provided an update on Texas’ hospital capacity on Tuesday afternoon.
Abbott noted that despite an uptick in positive cases, there continues to be abundant hospital capacity. He also urged all Texans to continue to do their part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and look out for the health of themselves and those around them.
“As we begin to open up Texas and Texans returns to their jobs, we remain laser-focused on maintaining abundant hospital capacity,” Abbott said. “The best way to contain the spread of this virus is by all Texans working together and following simple safety precautions. We all have a responsibility for our own health and for the health of our loved ones, friends, and neighbors. COVID-19 still exists in Texas, and if we are to contain the spread while getting Texans back to work, all Texans must do their part. That means making safe and smart decisions like wearing a mask, washing your hands, and socially distancing in public. The more Texans protect their own health, the safer our state will be and the more we will be able to open up for business.”
“Even though there are more people hospitalized, we still remain at the lowest threat level to our hospital capacity,” Abbott said.
The governor says Amarillo is an example of how the state can deploy a number of strategies to decrease positive cases and hospitalizations in hotspot areas.
Abbott reiterated that masks are necessary in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, although local governments can’t use their authority on those violating social distancing guidelines.
“We are here today to let Texans know about the abundant hospital capacity that exists to treat Texans who may test positive for COVID-19.”
Abbott said fewer Texans test positive for COVID-19 than residents in any large states in the U.S. He added that Texas has one of the lowest death rates and few Texans who test positive have to go to the hospital in the first place.
Abbott says two counties, Jefferson and Pecos counties, had an “outsized influence” on the number of Texans testing positive for COVID-19. For example, a federal prison in Beaumont brought back a batch of positive tests for inmates “that all came in at once.”
“I want you to know that this is the same type of analysis that we use on an ongoing basis as we look into each and every county across the entire state of Texas to figure out exactly what is going on,” Abbott said.
Tuesday’s number of positive cases, 2,622, is a new high for Texas, which Abbott says is because of a large number of tests out of an assisted living center in Collin County. Hays County is another example of a large increase, Abbott said.
“It seems like these numbers were batched together and averaged out,” he said.
Tuesday’s hospitalization number is 2,518, Abbott said.
Abbott says new medical strategies, treatments and additional PPE have better prepared Texas to respond to COVID-19.
“We are better prepared to deal with COVID-19 today than we were in March and April,” he said.
The governor recommended that people stay home, which he says is especially true for those with an underlying health condition or who are 65 and older.
He reiterated that Texans should wear masks while out in public because asymptomatic people can spread the coronavirus.
“Businesses have learned safe strategies both for their employees as well as their customers to make sure that they’re preventing the spread of COVID-19,” he said.
Zerwas gave a presentation on hospital bed availability. There are 14,993 total beds available in Texas out of the state’s 54,844 beds.
Zerwas says he hopes this is a “comforting message” of the state’s health care system.
Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, says state officials expected this increase in patients, but they are seeing it occurring at a manageable level.
“The possibility that things could flare up again and produce a resurgence of COVID-19,” which would stress the state’s health care system “is still very real,” Hellerstedt said.
Abbott said he anticipates an announcement this week or next on the upcoming school year.
“It is my expectation to see students return to schools in a classroom setting -- able to interact with teachers as well as able to interact with other students,” he said. He says he hopes students will also have the ability to participate in athletics and other activities.