SAN PATRICIO COUNTY, Texas — San Patricio County is providing some help for their health department with the number of staff doing contact tracing for the coronavirus.
"We're very hopeful that we'll be able to get a handle on this in the next seven to 14 days," Dr. James Mobley with the San Patricio Health Department said.
The Head of the San Patricio County Health Department told County Commissioners last week that he was hiring three people to help with contact tracing.
"We've hired an epidemiologist and also we're using people in other departments within the health department and also in emergency management that whenever they have time, they come in and work some cases for us," Dr. Mobley said.
Dr. Mobley said he believes that barring any changes, the number of virus cases has leveled off and could be heading down soon.
"When I looked yesterday, our numbers were about the same as July 1 as far as daily case rate and also daily hospitalizations," Dr. Mobley said. "The fatality rate is also dropping. That always has a lag behind everything else, though, but it's dropping. Also so, all three of my main criteria are improving at this time."
Dr. Mobley said he doesn't use an infection rate measurement, but believes the County's case rate is similar to other counties in the Coastal Bend.
Although there have been 33 total COVID deaths in the County, the death rate has dropped to a very low 1.3-percent. On August 12, 46 new cases were reported in the County and no hospitalizations.
"They may spike after Labor Day and that's what we're all holding our breath over, but at least right now it's not going up and is dropping," Dr. Mobley added.
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