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Data from the @BrazosCoHD over the last 40 days shows daily new cases frequently spiking. Today's (11/12) new case number is second highest since 10/8.
The number of deaths related to the virus has slowly crept up as well, from 60 on Oct. 4 to 79 today.
Here's the interesting chart, in my opinion. The number of Brazos County residents in the hospital from COVID-19 rises going into the Halloween weekend. That number has stayed above 20 in the days following.
We're expecting to hear about all of these trends, plus what to expect going into the Thanksgiving holiday at a @BrazosCoHD press conference at 2:30 p.m. @KBTXNews will carry it live on TV, our Facebook page and at http://kbtx.com/livestream2 .
Press conference started on time!
Flu stats from @BrazosCoHD press conference:
Oct. 1 - Nov. 9: 533 cases
2019 Oct. 1 - Nov. 9: 229 cases
Oct. 1 - Nov. 9: 533 cases
2019 Oct. 1 - Nov. 9: 229 cases
Halloween and more testing contributed to rise in cases going into that weekend, per Dr. Seth Sullivan, Brazos County Alternate Health Authority.
On COVID-19 fatigue, Sullivan says it's real. "We have to maintain vigilance."
Sullivan says Halloween was a time for gatherings that definitely had an impact here.
Sullivan says during the first 4-6 weeks of the football season it was tough to attribute any cases to those events.
On "shelter in place" orders, Sullivan says local officials are monitoring with health officials. They are meeting frequently. "No one wants to do that"
Sullivan wouldn't say what the threshold is on when those orders might be considered again for Brazos County.
Brazos County schools are seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, says Sullivan. (Allen Academy went to online learning this week due to confirmed cases)
@KBTXRusty asks about hospitalization occupancy pre-COVID, whether recent deaths are part of a cluster, and given everything we know now about COVID, what would Sullivan do differently.
Sullivan says on occupancy rates, hospitals run lean operations. Could have run 80% occupied pre-pandemic. Those rates include all patients, not just COVID.
Sullivan says long-term care facilities are where we will likely see deaths due to the coronavirus. State aid is available for those facilities.
To @KBTXRusty's question about what we've learned, Sullivan says testing is improving when it comes to who will be affected more by the virus.
Sullivan says there's been a lot of work on vaccines. "The FDA is doing things they haven't done before" in respect to getting vaccines developed.
Sullivan says the social and political environment has "been interesting, to understate it."
Measures like wearing a mask and social distancing are working, Sullivan says.
When asked what has changed in long-term care facilities that could lead to an increase in cases, Sullivan says visitation policies have changed recently.
There's also fatigue and turnover at those facilities, Sullivan says.
Masks decrease the "shedding" of the virus, Sullivan says. Masks are essential when indoors.
Certain types of masks do a better job (N95 vs cloth), Sullivan says. Critical to wear masks to protect others around us, those vulnerable.
On testing, recent tests are more accurate that those used at the start of the pandemic, Sullivan says. PCR test (nasal swabs) still accurate. Have been some false-positive cases. Sullivan says those FP tests are small minority.
Sullivan brings up reinfection of COVID-19. There have been reports of that happening, but not widespread.
"We need to test. We want to be testing more," says Sullivan. Testing dates coming up on Nov. 30, Dec. 1-2 at Connecting Point Church in College Station.
Sullivan says we don't have capacity to keep seeing statewide rates like we have over the last few weeks. Says we need to go back to what we were doing over the summer. (wearing masks, distancing, adhering to policies)
Sullivan says he's not sure how President-elect Biden will change pandemic response. "All of us know what we need to do right now with the information we have available"
Press conference has ended. Sullivan says he's not sure when the next one is, but he looks forward to speaking again. /end
