Maverick County Reports 116 Confirmed Positive COVID-19 Cases as of May 28, 2020, United States Surpasses 100,000 Deaths
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
As more Maverick County residents heed the advice of public health experts to get tested for COVID-19 if they have one or more symptoms of the virus such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, the more Maverick Countians are testing positive for the lethal Coronavirus.
Denise Nemeth, PA-C, a volunteer with the Eagle Pass and Maverick County Emergency Operations Center, reported that seven new people tested positive for COVID-19 in Maverick County as of Thursday, May 28, 2020, raising the total number of positive cases to 116.
Nemeth stated that a total of 2,208 people have been tested in Maverick County as of May 28, 2020 with a total of 1,712 negative results, 116 positive results, 380 people waiting for their test results, 26 people have recovered, and one fatality.
Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center (“Fort Duncan”) Chief Executive Officer Eladio Montalvo announced that the local hospital is now a COVID-19 testing site in collaboration with the Eagle Pass and Maverick County Emergency Operations Center. Montalvo added that Fort Duncan is now conducting between 20 to 30 COVID-19 tests per day, including on weekends.
Montalvo noted that Fort Duncan now offers the COVID-19 treatment of convalescent blood plasma of previous COVID-19 positive people as recent scientific studies have shown this treatment to be the most effective to date. Montalvo pointed out that all positive COVID-19 patients treated at Fort Duncan have recovered except for one patient who was transferred to a San Antonio hospital, where he expired while in rehabilitation treatment. Montalvo congratulated all of the medical staff and team members at Fort Duncan for doing a great job handling and treating COVID-19 patients.
Montalvo highlighted that Maverick County residents should not delay seeking medical help for COVID-19 as well as for all other medical conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and others. Fort Duncan is ready and available to handle all medical conditions of Maverick Countians.
Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo provided an update on the work of the local Emergency Operations Center, including notifying local businesses of the terms of the revised Declaration of Disaster approved by the City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County in order to be consistent with Governor Greg Abbott’s latest order.
Judge Saucedo stated that Maverick County is averaging about 100 COVID-19 tests per day between all local testing sites in the community.
Eagle Pass Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes commended Maverick Countians for their high rate of testing for COVID-19 compared to other communities in the region. The more people get tested, the better the health care indicators of the level of spread of the Coronavirus in Maverick County. Mayor Sifuentes noted that the seven people who tested positive on May 28, 2020 are related to other people who have previously tested positive for the Coronavirus in Maverick County.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported a total of 59,776 positive COVID-19 cases with a total of 1,601 deaths as of May 28, 2020. Texas reported the highest single-day number of new positive Coronavirus cases on Thursday, May 28, 2020, with a total of 1,855 cases and 39 additional deaths, bringing the state total to 1,601 deaths. Texas has administered 873,219 COVID-19 tests and another 88,643 antibody tests as of Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
As of May 28, 2020, Texas reports a total of 1,692 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19.
The United States sustained a somber day on Wednesday, May 27, 2020 as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 surpassed 100,000 persons. CDC stated that “reaching this milestone of 100,000 persons lost in such a short timeframe is a sobering development and a heart-breaking reminder of the horrible toll of this unprecedented pandemic.”
CDC recommended “As many communities are strategically reopening, it is important for everyone to work together to continue efforts to prevent community spread of COVID-19. We ask that all Americans continue to follow the guidance of their state and local health authorities and to do their part to embrace prevention strategies, including social distancing, practicing good hand hygiene on a regular basis, improved sanitation, and wearing a cloth face covering in public where the situation suggests, so as to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and protect the most vulnerable such as the frail and elderly with co-morbid health conditions and those with compromised immune systems.”
A total of 1,694,599 Americans had contracted COVID-19 as of Wednesday, May 27, 2020 with 100,047 persons dying from the deadly virus. Public health experts, however, say that the real number of infections and deaths from COVID-19 is likely much higher than the official count. Officials believe the death total has been undercounted since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic.
