Four More Maverick County Citizens Died From COVID-19 and 33 New Confirmed Positive COVID-19 Cases Reported on September 8, 2020, Bringing Cumulative Total to 99 Deaths and 3,491 Cases
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Despite reduced COVID-19 testing and testing anomalies in Maverick County, the novel coronavirus remains deadly as ever as another four local citizens died from COVID-19 and and 33 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at the joint City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 press conference.
Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo stated that a total of 16,745 people in Maverick County have had a COVID-19 test administered with 3,491 positive results, 12,986 negative results, 265 pending test results, 402 active cases, 2,990 recovered people, 99 fatalities (deaths), 25 currently hospitalized patients, and a positivity rate of 21.2 percent.
County Judge Saucedo noted that of the 25 currently hospitalized patients, a total of four are in the Intensive Care Unit, 21 in the medical floor, and four are on ventilators. Saucedo added that there are less people reportedly hospitalized in the county than before. He pointed out that Texas Governor Greg Abbott extended the state’s Declaration of Disaster for COVID-19.
Eagle Pass Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes stated that new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases have decreased during the past two to three weeks and that not all local COVID-19 testing centers and health care providers had reported their test results on Monday, September 7, 2020, and that possibly some of these new cases being reported on September 8 are part of these previously unreported cases.
Mayor Sifuentes noted that of the four deceased persons reported on September 8, three died at a San Antonio, Texas hospital and one locally, raising the total to 99 fatalities. Sifuentes added that two were females, ages 61 and 81, and two were males, ages 40 and 52.
Recent testing anomalies and discrepancies have raised questions among Maverick County citizens regarding the accuracy of the COVID-19 reports. For instance, on September 4, 2020, Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center reported two Maverick County citizens had passed away due to COVID-19 subject to confirmation, but these two deaths were not officially counted for the totals of September 4. Instead, local officials stated that these two deaths would be reported on September 7 after confirmation, but they were not reported on September 7 as no new deaths was reported. Another instance is the local Emergency Operations Center has a total of 99 fatalities as of September 8, but the Texas Department of State Health Services reported a total of 100 fatalities in Maverick County. In addition, on September 8 local officials reported a positivity rate of 21.2 percent during the press conference, but later reported it as being 20.8 percent in the City of Eagle Pass’ COVID-19 Report. Also, some COVID-19 testing centers and health care providers are not reporting their COVID-19 test results on a timely basis to the Emergency Operations Center. Furthermore, public testing for COVID-19 has significantly decreased in Maverick County. Maverick County citizens rely on and interpret the local COVID-19 reports to make decisions concerning their personal and family health and safety. Public health data is only reliable and as good as its accuracy. Now is not the time to let our guard down.
Eagle Pass Independent School District Superintendent Samuel Mijares stated that “it is very, very important that if a child is ill or anybody in the household is ill or sick, please do not send the child to school.” “We have had situations and it has happened more than once already where the child feels sick or there is a COVID case in the household, a parent sends the child to school and that can cause a spread of COVID-19 and puts other children and our staff at risk,” added Mijares.
Mijares noted that there are only 540 students attending in-person instruction in the local school district, representing only four percent of the total students enrolled. Some school campuses have 28 students attending in-person instruction and some classrooms only have one to three students in them. For instance, Eagle Pass High School only has 28 students attending in-person instruction when regularly it has 2,400 students. The numbers of students attending in-person instruction right now are so low that it is easy for the school district to implement health and safety COVID-19 preventative measures. “Right now, the students are not getting infected at school because we barely have a week. We can honestly say they were already infected at home or contact traced it to someone who was infected at home,” said Mijares.
“We have trained every single nurse with contact tracing procedures and what to do in situations if we have a COVID-19 case. We have a room for isolation designated just for children until they are picked up…” by their parents, said Mijares. Mijares pleaded with parents not to send their children to school if they are feeling sick or someone at home is sick or has COVID-19. Mijares noted that the EPISD is working closely with the City, County, and the Emergency Operations Center to comply with and implement all EOC regulations.
EPISD Board of Trustees President Jorge Barrera stated “I want to thank the students, parents, teachers, principals, and staff for doing a great job….it has been very challenging…the first week has been a little rough but everyone has adjusted….” Barrera advised the public regarding the food distribution of meals to students by the District’s Food Service Program and Transportation Department. EPISD Food Service Director Mario Garcia described in detail the current food distribution of meals to students within the school district.
Texas has reported as of September 8, 2020, a total of 641,791 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, 13,533 fatalities, 74,829 active cases, and 533,409 recovered people as of September 8, 2020.
Nationally, the United States reported 462 deaths due to COVID-19 and 28,550 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases on September 8, 2020, bringing the cumulative total to 190,000 deaths and 6,345,700 cases.
