Maverick County COVID-19 Cases Spike After Thanksgiving
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
Maverick County Emergency Operation Center reported a spike in confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in the community after Thanksgiving with 47 new cases on Thursday, December 3, 2020, bringing the cumulative total to 5,059 positive cases and 150 fatalities due to COVID-19.
On Thursday, December 3, 2020, Maverick County also reported a high positivity rate of 17.7% and 18 people hospitalized at the Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center in Eagle Pass, Texas. Also reported is that there are a total of 167 pending test results, 487 active COVID-19 cases in the county, and 4,422 people have recovered from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, December 2, 2020, Maverick County reported 90 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, no new fatalities due to COVID-19, a positivity rate of 17.7%, and 13 people being hospitalized locally due to COVID-19.
On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, Maverick County reported 39 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, no new fatalities due to COVID-19, a positivity rate of 17.8%, and 13 people hospitalized locally due to COVID-19.
On Monday, November 30, 2020, Maverick County reported two new fatalities due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 150 deaths, and 60 new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, a positivity rate of 17.7%, and 9 people hospitalized locally due to COVID-19.
A national COVID-19 reporting website titled “coronavirus.smartnews.com” stated that the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Maverick County as of December 4, 2020 is 174, a difference of 24 additional deaths than reported by the Maverick County Emergency Operation Center. The discrepancy is significant and deserves to be investigated why there is a big difference in the total number of deaths reported for Maverick County. The Texas Department of State Health Services also reports a total of 174 fatalities or deaths in Maverick County due to COVID-19.
Maverick County public officials have advised all residents in the county to adhere strictly to the CDC Guidelines of wearing a face mask, wash hands with soap, use hand sanitizer, practice social distancing of six feet, avoid gatherings greater than 10 and with people outside one’s household, limit travel to essential matters, and stay home to avoid and slow the community spread of COVID-19 in the community.
Both Texas and the United States are experiencing a surge of new confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and record fatalities or deaths due to COVID-19 during the past month and is expected to worsen this Christmas-New Year’s holiday season as people gather to celebrate the holidays.
Texas has nearly tripled the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 since the beginning of October 2020. A White House COVID-19 Task Force Report noted Texas is seeing an “unsustainable increase in hospitalizations” due to COVID-19 and “statewide mitigation must increase.” The White House Report added that the situation is particularly grave in West Texas, including El Paso, and experts are worried that the holidays could exacerbate an already dangerous situation.”
As of December 3, 2020, Texas has 9,151 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 with over 22,000 Texans succumbing to the deadly coronavirus since the pandemic started in March 2020. Texas reported a cumulative total of 1,215,113 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases with 193,213 active cases as of December 2, 2020.
Nationally, the United States reported a total of 2,857 new coronavirus deaths and 216,548 new cases on Thursday, December 3, 2020, bringing the cumulative total to 276,375 deaths due to COVID-19 and 14.2 million confirmed positive COVID-19 cases. The United States currently has 100,667 people hospitalized with COVID-19 and this figure is rapidly rising, raising concerns that most hospitals will be overwhelmed on or before Christmas.
