By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
If Del Rioans were hoping for a holiday from COVID, that wait will be for naught.
In almost a repeat of 2021 post-Christmas and New Year’s Eve trends, the number of COVID-positive cases in Del Rio has increased dramatically in the first 10 days of the new year.
According to Val Verde County Emergency Management, from Jan. 4 to Jan. 8, active cases of COVID in Val Verde County jumped 141.9 percent. In a chart released by the emergency management team Jan. 4, there were 567 active cases of COVID in the county. In the latest chart, published on the official Val Verde County Emergency Management Facebook page Jan. 8, the number of active cases stood at 1,372.
Those numbers included 1,069 new cases that were reported since the Jan. 4 report.
An accompanying line graph shows trends that are similar not only in Texas, but across the country. After a relatively quiet summer, active COVID cases began to rise in August and continued to stay higher than normal until the end of September. That rise was in conjunction with students and staff reporting back to school.
The numbers of positive cases remained low from the end of September until just past Dec. 21 when, according to the graph, the number trended only upwards, clearing 1,000 cases after Jan. 1.
The breakdown of the numbers sheds some light as to who has among those who have tested positive and reported it through the proper medical channels.
More females than males were reported among the active cases with 59 percent versus 41 percent.
In terms of age groups affected, 20-29-year-olds have the most active cases especially among females. The 30-39-year-old age group is second followed by 40-49-year-olds, 10-19-year-olds and then 50-59-year-olds.
The emergency management chart also points out the vast difference in active cases among those persons who are vaccinated and/or boosted versus those persons who are not vaccinated.
Of the more than 1,300 active cases, 1.60 percent of those persons are vaccinated. Non-vaccinated persons account for 89 percent of active cases.
Non-vaccinated persons also account for 94 percent of persons hospitalized in Val Verde County, and 97 percent of COVID-related deaths were non-vaccinated persons.
In a video posted to his personal Facebook page Jan. 7, Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens spent several minutes on a variety of topics including the rising number of COVID cases in the county.
Owens was blunt in his assessment.
“The numbers are high again, folks. It is what it is. Y’all need to take care of yourselves. Whatever precautions that you all think are necessary take ’em,” Owens said. “We knew the numbers were going to be high just for the simple reason that we’ve all had our Christmas parties and New Year’s parties and everything else and then you get around people … other individuals that are sniffling and coughing … we knew the numbers were going to be high.
“Our numbers are high and I would expect that they will continue to be like this. The more we gather the higher the numbers are going to go. You have kids that just went back to school so I’m pretty sure our numbers are going to go higher. We need to take care of each other, please.”
Owens also addressed concerns brought to him by people who stop him in his day-to-day activities regarding the use of masks and the effectiveness of vaccines. He said every member of the Val Verde County Commissioners Court was vaccinated, but reminded the citizens that there is no mask mandate in the county nor is there a vaccine mandate.
“As a government we’re here to provide (the vaccine), but I damn sure don’t think we should mandate it. I don’t believe in that, this court has taken a vote against that, and against what the president is mandating on the vaccine,” Owens said, adding that while he usually does not wear a mask, he was considering returning to wearing one for the safety of his grandchild.
Owens also spent some time reminding listeners that vaccine clinics would continue to be held at Plaza del Sol Mall every Wednesday and Friday, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Persons can receive their first vaccine, second vaccine or booster per Center for Disease Control (CDC) eligibility.
The Pfizer vaccine, for persons 12 years of older, and the Moderna vaccine, for persons 18 years or older, are available.
These clinics are free of charge and no appointment is required, but there may be a lengthy line as it is first come, first served.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
