Bell County officials seeing uptick in COVID-19 cases
Officials say a majority of the new cases are among people between the ages of 20 and 40. Author: Bary Roy Updated: 9:42 PM CDT July 7, 2021
BELL COUNTY, Texas Bell County healthcare leaders said that have noticed a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases as they continue to closely follow cases and hospitalizations in the county.
Over the past several weeks, the county’s incidence rate has hovered between 25 and 30 new cases per 100,000 population. However, last week’s total was 154 active cases.
“The increased volumes are more evidence that we are not out of COVID just yet,” Patrick Swindle, Chief Executive Officer of Seton Medical Center in Harker Heights, said. “Staying diligent with masking and appropriate hand-hygiene is still important. However, the most effective route is getting vaccinated. I urge the public to take the necessary steps to get vaccinated wherever offered.”
Bell County leaders closely monitoring uptick in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations kxxv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kxxv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Temple Independent School District Superintendent Bobby Ott believes this yearâs standardized testing scores across Texas speak for itself.
On Monday, the Texas Education Agency revealed that in-person learnersâ 2021 standardized testing results were âappreciably higherâ than their peers enrolled under remote instruction â a notable consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath credited school districts, like Temple ISD, that prioritized the availability of in-person instruction.
âWhen students come into Texas public schools, they are well-served by Texas educators â a fact that these scores confirm,â he said in a news release. âBut it is also painfully clear that the pandemic had a very negative impact on learning.â
Seven more COVID-19 deaths from Bell County have reported to the state, more than a month following the Bell County Public Health District stopping its local coronavirus updates.
The stateâs COVID-19 dashboard, updated this week, now shows an increase of deaths locally from the virus. The dashboard, maintained by the Department of State Health Services, has been slow to update, previously showing less cases and deaths than what the county reported.
The countyâs number of deaths from the virus is 443 â seven more deaths that what the county reported a month ago. The number of confirmed cases in Bell County is now at 22,583 and recoveries at 22,184.
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