Area hospitalizations for COVID-19 rise, still below statewide average

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

Hospitalizations statewide have continued to climb steadily this week, with 5,605 hospitalized with COVID-19, making up 8.61 percent of hospitalizations.

Locally, in Trauma Service Region L, there were a total of 46 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized at facilities in Bell, Coryell, Lampasas, Hamilton, Mills, and Milam Counties, making up 3.84 percent of area hospitalizations. 

Bob Harrell, Coryell County Emergency Management Coordinator, talked about the statewide outlook and area situation regarding the spread of COVID-19. 

“I wish I had a lot of good news, but I don’t,” Harrell told county commissioners on Tuesday morning. “Since Monday morning, we have received new cases reported from the labs, not DSHS, 11 or 12 Monday. We’re seeing an uptick of cases,” Harrell said, also noting that Copperas Cove High School would be having virtual classes only “for at least a week.” 

Harrell said he couldn’t say what the local spread is due to, but he said that masks prevent the spread, and that having good hygiene, washing hands, and social distancing were key. 

“Also, we have to protect our medical facilities, especially our bed counts. We need make sure we do everything we can to not overwhelm our medical system going forward. This was anticipated that we would have an uptick of cases during the cold and flu season.” 

In Coryell County, the total number of COVID-19 cases increased from 797 to 810, between Oct. 23 and Oct. 27 reports from the County. However, active cases dropped from 141 to 115, which is the same number of active cases noted on the county’s Oct. 9 report. 

It is not known how many of those positive with COVID-19 in Coryell County are hospitalized.

The eight most recent cases listed on the county’s tracker are dated Oct. 23, and are Copperas Cove area residents, two boys under the age of 10, one man in his 20s, a woman in her 30s, two individuals in their 40s, a man in his 50s, and a man in his 70s. 

Coryell County Judge Roger Miller gave the commissioners his own most recent update, noting 806 total cases in the county, with 114 active, 681 recovered, 11 fatalities. He again reiterated that he does not include cases given by the Texas Department of State Health Services, such as 12 cases who are not county residents, 30 “probable” cases on the list, and 29 cases that have either a p.o. box or no address listed whatsoever, or a total of 71 cases which he cannot account for.

Miller said that over the past seven weeks, there has been an average of 35 new cases per week, with the week of Oct. 7-14 seeing an uptick of 78 cases, after a spike around Oct. 1. 

“We’re consistently holding at around five cases day,” Miller added. “The infection spread is continuing at a consistent rate given a seven-week picture.” 

The city of Copperas Cove issued its weekly update for COVID-19 cases on Monday morning, with a cumulative case count of 440 to include 70 active cases in the city limits.

As of last Friday, Lampasas County had only eight active cases in the county, with a total of 403 cases in Lampasas County altogether. 

In Texas counties with active cases below 20, those county judges may apply for an exception to the governor’s face covering mandate. Lampasas Mayor Misti Talbert explained on social media that the county judge monitors numbers daily and will apply for a mask exemption after the county has an active count around 15 or below for a few days. 

“If we apply too soon and the number goes back up, even for one day, then we can’t reapply for 30 days,” Talbert said.

On Wednesday, Talbert gave another update, with a total case count of 413 and active cases at 14, up from last Friday’s eight cases.

Statewide, both new positive cases and active cases continue to increase. As of Wednesday, the total cases reached 879,994, with 96,528 of those cases still considered active cases. An estimated 767,905 have recovered. There were 5,175 new cases added on Wednesday, and an additional 105 fatalities.

COVID-19 cases in Central Texas*

Bell County 550 active cases (6,390 total)  

Burnet County 250 active cases (1,047 total)

Coryell County 115 active cases (810 total)

• Copperas Cove (city) 70 active cases (427 total) 
• TDCJ in Coryell Co 7 active cases (1,123 total)

Lampasas County 14 active cases (413 total)

McLennan County 532 active cases (10,014 total)

Williamson County 216 active cases (9,479 total)

*As of press time Thursday, numbers from Texas DSHS, City of Copperas Cove, Coryell County, TDCJ COVID-19 dashboard, Bell County Public Health District