A Texas county announced Friday that 85 babies have tested positive for COVID-19. Nueces County in South Texas is battling a coronavirus outbreak It has infected at least 7,861 people.
Nueces County Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez told a news conference on Friday that a review of the county’s data showed that 85 of its positive residents were less than a year old. “These babies are not yet on their first birthday,” she said.
Home to the Gulf city of Corpus Christi, Nueces is one of 250 Texas counties, out of a total of 254, which now reports cases of coronavirus, according to the state health department’s COVID-19 tracker. On June 10, Corpus Christi announced the death of a 6-month-old baby due to COVID-19, the only reported death of a child under the age of one year in the county so far.
Rodríguez said Friday that the county tested 860 people during the week, and 328 tests tested positive for coronavirus, a positivity rate of 38%.
“This rate must be reduced if we are to succeed in reducing the number of hospitalizations and the number of people we are losing to the virus,” he said. “The next two weeks are critical to curbing the spread of COVID-19.”
Seventy-five people in Nueces have died from the coronavirus, according to the health department. Rodríguez reported Friday that 12 of those deaths occurred last week.
“Residents must act now. We desperately need their help to reduce transmission of this virus. Stay home. Especially if they are sick, older, and / or have medical conditions,” he said. “If you’re sick and don’t need medical attention, do everything in your power to recover.”
“Please help us stop the spread of this disease. Stay social distanced from others, stay protected, wear a mask when you are in public and for everyone else, please do your best to stay home.”
Residents are told to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people and to avoid going out in public unless absolutely necessary. Rodríguez asked people to cancel events, “especially family events.”
“We are seeing a lot of transmission among family members,” he said. “Don’t invite others into your home to get this disease.”
Corpus Christi Mayor Joe McComb encouraged people to get tested.
“The faster we know how big the problem is, or how much bigger it is becoming, or how smaller it is becoming, hopefully it is smaller, then we will be miles away to try to come to a conclusion,” he said.
County beaches have been closed and schools have been ordered not to reopen until after Labor Day. County Judge Barbara Canales said at a Friday news conference that she “wholeheartedly supports” the orders.
“We are at a turning point, in our hospitals and in our ICU capacity,” he said. “I think we are at a breaking point with enough medical personnel to maintain those beds and medical supplies.”
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