Maverick County COVID-19 Cases Decrease Amid Testing Anomalies as Nine New Confirmed Positive Cases Reported on September 7, 2020, Bringing Total to 3,458 Cases and 95 Deaths
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Maverick County Officials have noted a significant decrease of new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases as a result of less people in the county testing for the novel coronavirus in recent weeks as well as testing anomalies after having previously been recognized by the New York Times on August 29, 2020 as being ranked No. 1 among metro areas in the United States with the highest number of new infections.
On August 28, 2020, a total of 23 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and one death were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate was at 21.6 percent.
On August 31, 2020, a total of 42 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and six deaths were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate increased to 21.7 percent.
On September 1, 2020, a total of 12 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and no new deaths were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate decreased to 21.5 percent.
On September 2, 2020, a total of 47 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and one new death were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate remained at 21.5 percent.
On September 3, 2020, a total of 11 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and one new death were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate remained at 21.5 percent.
On September 4, 2020, a total of 34 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and no new death were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rated decreased slightly to 21.3 percent. However, Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center reported two new deaths on September 4 subject to verification with the understanding that they would be included in the September 7 totals.
On September 7, 2020, a total of 9 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and no new death were reported in Maverick County while the positivity rate slightly increased to 21.4 percent. The two deaths from September 4 that were going to be verified and counted on September 7 were not included among the total count, raising an anomaly with the COVID-19 Report. In addition, Eagle Pass Mayor Luis E. Sifuentes noted that not all the COVID-19 testing centers or health care providers had reported their test results on September 7, raising another testing anomaly with the COVID-19 Report. Furthermore, Mayor Sifuentes acknowledged the first student at the Eagle Pass Independent School District at Memorial Junior High School had tested positive for COVID-19 during the first week of school classes on September 4.
Mayor Sifuentes reported that as of September 7, 2020, there were a total of 16,525 people in Maverick County have had a COVID-19 test administered with 3,458 positive results, 12,723 negative results, 344 pending results, 398 active cases, 2,965 recovered people, 32 currently hospitalized patients, 95 deaths, and the positivity rate slightly decreased to 21.4 percent.
Maverick County citizens have expressed concerns with the testing and reporting anomalies and discrepancies reported in the daily COVID-19 report, questioning why haven’t the two deaths reported by Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center on September 4 were not included in the September 7 report and why are Maverick County COVID-19 testing centers and health care providers being allowed not to report their testing results on a timely basis.
As Maverick County Officials have repeatedly told citizens that “now is not the time to let your guard down,” all COVID-19 testing centers and health care providers need to be required by the local Emergency Operations Center and Local Health Authority to timely report their test results and Maverick County should promote and open up COVID-19 testing within the community to record an accurate measure of the transmission and community spread of COVID-19 in the county. “Now is not the time to let our guard down” regarding the reporting of COVID-19 test results and decreasing COVID-19 testing within Maverick County.
Although there are many factors on why the number of new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases have decreased in Maverick County, the positivity rate remains very high at 21.4 percent as of September 7, 2020. For example, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reported on September 7 that the positivity rate in New York City has been less than one percent for the past 30 days. During these past 30 days, Maverick County’s positivity rate has been extremely high between 21.3 percent to 22.5 percent. All Maverick County citizens need to work collaboratively with local authorities to reduce the positivity rate of COVID-19 infections in the community.
