NUECES COUNTY, Texas — During today's COVID-19 briefing by City-County officials, we learned that while the outbreak is far from over, cases in the Coastal Bend are declining.
Still, health officials said we should all keep our guard up. This, as the Coastal Bend ranks 5th in the state when it comes to cases based on our seven day average -- that's ahead of larger cities like Houston and Dallas.
Another interesting statistic shared by the local Coronavirus Task Force is that cell phone data indicates that potential encounters have decreased. They believe this could be due to the return of remote learning for students.
During his presentation, Dr. Chris Bird with the task force talked about being in self-quarantine after contracting the virus himself. Luckily, he said his symptoms are mild.
"There are three options where I may have gotten it, from there at City Hall, 2, at the doctor's office when I got my flu shot, or 3, at TAMUCC where I work," Dr. Bird said. "I went inside the building for 10 minutes, COVID was still able to get through. Some people might be discouraged."
As we go into the flu season, Public Health Director Annette Rodriguez also asked folks to test their masks by lighting a candle and seeing if they can blow it out through their mask.
If you can, you might want to reconsider wearing a different type of mask.