Copperas Cove issues last update on city COVID-19 cases

By LYNETTE SOWELL 
Cove Leader-Press 

With vaccinations continuing to increase, and testing on a plateaued decrease compared to earlier this year, the number of new cases has gone down locally. 
“We’ve only had three cases in the last two days, who have tested positive,” said Bob Harrell, Coryell County Emergency Management Coordinator, on Tuesday morning in commissioners court. “Coryell Health had a clinic in Copperas Cove last week, targeting the 12 and above. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we encourage everyone to get a COVID-19 vaccine, if they are available. We are well behind the state average. We have quite a few, they just need to take that leap. 
“On the frontier heading toward us, there is rise of the delta variant. It’s a double mutation. Its origin is from India. It is more virulent and anywhere from 40-60 percent more transmissible. 
We’re looking at having a booster available for us sometime in the fall. 
“Let’s not throw away those masks yet, or the hand sanitizer; we had a spike last year in July and August. Keep your fingers crossed.”
On Monday, Copperas Cove Deputy Fire Chief/Gary Young issued the weekly update for the cases within the city of Copperas Cove, and said that the update would be the last one provided by the city, as the Texas Department of State Health Services would no longer be releasing numbers specific to cities. 
There were a total of 31 active cases in the city, and Young said those cases will be considered no longer active on June 19. The total cumulative number of cases for Copperas Cove was 2,932 as of June 7, which includes 32 fatalities.
Although the state will no longer be reporting case numbers to cities, Texas Department of State Health Services will continue to track cases as they are reported by medical facilities. TXDSHS also is tracking vaccination rates among Texas counties. 
In Coryell County, nearly one in four residents age 12 and up have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or 24.61 percent. A total of 60.06 percent of residents age 65 and up have been fully vaccinated. 
In the state of Texas, 44.53 percent of Texas age 12 and up have been fully vaccinated, which includes 70.34 percent of Texas senior citizens age 65 and older.
The Copperas Cove Independent School District also tracked cases among students and district staff during the school year, with a total of 295 cases among the district’s 8,029 students, 6,077 of whom were enrolled on campus for the school year. 
Numbers were tracked from July 27, 2020 through May 30, 2021, as per the weekly report CCISD submitted to the Texas Education Agency, which in conjunction with TXDSHS, also tracked student and staff COVID-19 cases statewide. 
The campus with the most cases during the school year was Copperas Cove High School, with 120, followed by Copperas Cove Junior High with 41; S.C. Lee Junior High with 38; Clements/Parsons Elementary with 30; Williams/Ledger Elementary with 20; House Creek Elementary and Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy, Fairview/Jewell Elementary, each with 10 cases; and Martin Walker Elementary and Halstead Elementary, both with eight total cases; and Crossroads High School with zero cases. Among the district staff, 150 of the staff had test-confirmed cases.
As of Wednesday afternoon, there were a total of 26,768 active cases of COVID-19 within the state of Texas. With that, there were a total of 1,277 new confirmed cases of the virus on Wednesday. 
Hospitalizations remain over 1,600 statewide, at 1,607 on Wednesday, at their lowest level since May 26, 2020. 
On Tuesday, Coryell County Judge Roger Miller said that quote about hospitalizations. 
In the local Trauma Service Area L, there were a total of 28 in the region hospitalized with COVID-19.  
Judge Miller said that during the last teleconference with Region 7, about a week and a half ago, Texas DSHS is already starting a model for resurgence in the fall.
“It’s been a long  year and a half. We sound like a broken record a lot of times. It’s still there, and it still affects people. For me, the overriding concern will be to protect the healthcare system. If that crumbles, we are in a bad situation.” 
The state has a Mobile Vaccine Program in which groups of five or more can schedule a mobile vaccine clinic. Those interested in having a mobile vaccine clinic can call 844-90-TEXAS and select Option 3 to schedule a mobile vaccine clinic to vaccinate groups of friends, families, employees, volunteers, etc. Those who are homebound can call the hotline and select Option 1 to request a state mobile vaccination team to visit their home. The call center is open Monday-Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.