COVID numbers remain high

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

More than 300 people in Guadalupe County were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus as of Thursday afternoon, according to information the county’s emergency management coordinator released.

The county also recognized another resident’s death related to the virus, Patrick Pinder said.

“Since the start of COVID-19, there have been 48 deaths reported to Guadalupe County Emergency Management by (the Texas Department of State Health Services),” said Pinder, who serves as emergency management coordinator and fire marshal in Guadalupe County.

Guadalupe County reported 320 confirmed active cases of COVID-19, 153 probable active cases and 4894 recoveries, among the 48 deaths, Pinder said.

He said the confirmed active cases were dispersed throughout the county as follows: New Braunfels had 44; Cibolo, 59; Seguin, 54; Schertz, 71, Marion, 6, Selma, 3, and the unincorporated areas of Guadalupe County had 83 cases.

As of Dec. 15, Guadalupe Regional Medical Center healthcare workers were treating 26 patients with the disease at the facility, Public Information Officer Elizabeth McCown said in a statement.

The hospital’s seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 admissions was four per day, she said. At the same time, the GRMC’s seven-day moving average for COVID-19 hospitalizations was 24 per day.

Pinder said 42 of the 48 county residents who he reported as having died of the disease died at GRMC.

Meanwhile, DSHS Region 8, which includes Guadalupe and several other counties, released an update of its COVID-19 statistics Thursday as well.

According to numbers from the state agency, 927 cases of the disease in Guadalupe County were pending investigation, 4,678 had been confirmed, 456 remained active, 5,671 had recovered and 47 people died.

For nearly all of 2020, COVID-19 has been in the forefront of many people’s minds, as well as actions taken to help prevent its spread. It can be a lot, McCown said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created stress and anxiety that can feel compounded by the holiday season,” she said.

She encouraged anyone feeling overwhelmed by the pandemic to reach out to the Texas Health and Human Services COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line available toll free at 833-986-1919.

Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor for the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com 

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