COVID-19 cases increase to six in Nacogdoches County

One week after the opening of a local call center and remote COVID-19 testing site, the number of confirmed cases in Nacogdoches County rose to six.

Two new cases were confirmed at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

In the past week, nearly 150 tests have been administered, according to the Nacogdoches County Emergency Management Office, which issues an update of confirmed cases daily.

Regardless of the official count, every person should behave as if they are already infected, local health officials emphasize.

“If you have to go into the community for essentials, wash your hands and train yourself to keep your hands off your face,” Dr. Eddy Furniss of Nacogdoches Health Partners said in a video released to social media Wednesday. “Take action in this moment for the common good. Do your part. Your life and the lives of others may very well depend on it.”

A Stay Home, Stay Safe order requiring all county residents to remain in their homes, with exceptions for essential business, went into effect on Monday.

“The medical necessity of this order is without question to me,” Furniss said. “While social distancing was already a state mandate, it was obvious that members of our community weren’t taking this seriously.”

The county’s first COVID-19 case was announced March 25, with a second reported Saturday and two more confirmed the following Monday. Anyone with symptoms is urged not to go to the emergency room or medical office, and instead call the county’s COVID-19 hotline at 468-4787. Patients also are urged to call their doctor if they become ill and stay away from emergency rooms. For patients who have no doctor and need a referral, the Nacogdoches Area Physicians Association has set up a referral line at 560-2966.

“People need to understand that our medical community does not have a great deal of capacity. Just a small outbreak could quickly overwhelm our resources,” Furniss said. “If Dallas or Houston cannot be our backup with their own overwhelmed hospitals, it’s up to us to make sure we slow any community spread so we can keep up. The harder we work in this first phase the faster we can get back to work.”

On Tuesday, neighboring Angelina County confirmed its fifth COVID-19 case, and San Augustine County reported its first case.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Rusk County had confirmed five cases, Shelby County had two and Cherokee County rose to four, according to Texas Health and Human Services. The East Texas counties of Panola, Tyler, Sabine, Trinity, Houston and Jasper have not reported any cases while Harris County has the largest number at 680.

Statewide, 47,857 tests have been administered resulting in 3,997 positive cases.

Barring being lifted or extended by officials, the Nacogdoches County stay-home order will expire just before midnight on April 7.