CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As 3News continues to monitor the COVID-19 spread in the Coastal Bend, we also looked at the start of the pandemic and all that has changed.
"For us, they've been changing daily since day one. People would say 'oh you said yesterday, I know CDC recommended that yesterday,' but now they're saying 'in addition to that do this or now do this," said Annette Rodriguez, the health director for the Nueces County-Corpus Christi health district.
Several changes have occurred not only to safety protocols, but also to the list of symptoms used to detect COVID-19.
"People would call and say, 'I have a cold' and we would say 'oh you don't have COVID, that was at the beginning," said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said it was a year of learning and adjusting.
"At the beginning, we weren't saying to wear a mask, in fact we were discouraging to wear a mask. We were saying save those masks for people who need it most," said Rodriguez.
Now, Texas is currently under a state-wide mask mandate, which requires all Texans to wear a mask when entering buildings.
"Ten days for isolation if you're COVID positive but it's also 10 days for your contacts that you came in contact with," said Rodriguez.
Initially, the health department recommended people to stay home and quarantine for 14 days after testing positive, but that also changed once more was learned about the virus.
People can also test during their quarantine on day five, six or seven to end their isolation period earlier. This is an option that wasn't available earlier in the pandemic.
Treatment has also since improved with the help of convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies.
"There's been all these changes and a lot of it is because it was a novel virus and now, we know more about it," said Rodriguez.
She added that vitamins like vitamin c, vitamin d, zinc and acetaminophen also help combat the virus.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com: