Breaking News! Maverick County Reports Third Fatality Due to COVID-19 and New Single-Day High Record Number of Confirmed Positive COVID-19 Cases with 108, Total Cases Now 434
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Nestled on the Rio Grande along the United States-Mexico border, Maverick County is a busy international gateway of trade, commerce, and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness among two nations bonded as one community.
The peace and tranquility of this growing international gateway is being threatened by the rapidly surging novel coronavirus pandemic spreading like wildfire among its industrious people and the citizens of the world.
Maverick County Officials reported the third fatality due to the deadly COVID-19 virus and the single-day high record number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases with 108 on Monday, June 29, 2020, raising the total number to 434 cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eagle Pass Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes stated a total of 6,016 people in Maverick County have been administered the COVID-19 virus test with 4,975 negative results, 434 positive results, 607 waiting for test results, 284 active cases, 147 have recovered, 15 hospitalized people, three fatalities, and the positivity rate increased to 7.2 percent on Monday, June 29, 2020.
In addition to setting a new record for a single-day high number of positive COVID-19 cases, Mayor Sifuentes announced that the number of people hospitalized increased from 11 to 15 and the positivity rate increased from 5.8 percent to 7.2 percent.
Sifuentes noted that local health care clinics administering the COVID-19 tests were running out of test kits and requesting that only people with symptoms of COVID-19 such as fever, cough, and sore throat be tested while people who came into contact with a person who tested positive wait several days to see if they developed any symptoms of the virus before coming in to get tested. Local testing centers are being overwhelmed by the demand among Maverick Countians desiring to get tested for the coronavirus.
Previously last week, Dr. Sergio Zamora, Director of the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Intensive Care Unit, the sole hospital in the county, pleaded with Maverick Countians to respect and observe the three simple rules of the CDC guidelines such as practice social distancing, wear a face mask, and wash one’s hands frequently to slow or stop the community spread of the deadly virus within the community.
Dr. Zamora stated that the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center Intensive Care Unit only has 10 beds and 14 to 16 ventilators available and a shortage of nurses, respiratory therapists, and physicians working in the local Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Zamora warned Maverick Countians that unless they began to respect and follow the CDC guidelines, they might die from COVID-19 due to the local hospital being potentially overwhelmed by positive COVID-19 patients and the lack of San Antonio hospitals accepting COVID-19 transfer patients from Maverick County and South Texas because they are saturated with patients.
Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo stated that Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center needs 12 additional nurses to assist it meet the demand of COVID-19 patients in the community and the County would use federal and state COVID-19 emergency disaster funds to help the local hospital recruit or find the necessary number of nurses and health care professionals to meet the demand presented by the skyrocketing number of positive COVID-19 patients in the community.
Both Mayor Sifuentes and Judge Saucedo admonished all residents of Maverick County to follow and practice the CDC guidelines to slow or stop the community spread of the lethal COVID-19 virus.
The writing is on the wall. Unless Maverick Countians get serious practicing the CDC guidelines such as wearing a face mask, social distancing (6 feet), wash one’s hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, limit travel to essential matters, avoid gatherings of 10 or more people, and stay at home, Maverick County may potentially face a public health crisis by overwhelming the limited health care facilities and resources available within the community, possibly resulting in significant and/or catastrophic consequences. Stay Home. Save Lives. Wear a Face Mask. Follow the CDC Guidelines.
Maverick County public entities and leaders as well as health care professionals and local businesses need to develop and prepare a community public health contingency plan in the event of a worst case scenario. The novel coronavirus does not discriminate on who it infects with its deadly mutating virus. It is a matter of life and death.
