Woman dies after battle with COVID

An elderly local woman has died while battling the COVID-19 virus, and two new cases of the disease have been confirmed in Donley County this week.

A family member of Eunice Ward told the Enterprise they have not been given an official cause of the July 28 death of the 97-year-old Hedley resident but said she had been living at home with family and doing well for her age before she was hospitalized June 27 and tested positive for COVID-19.

“I think it’s safe to say that it put her on a downward spiral,” Ward’s daughter-in-law Carole Ward said.

Carole Ward said her mother-in-law spent a week in the hospital before being moved to a skilled nursing facility. She was later moved back to the hospital for a time before returning home under hospice care.

“She was still testing positive when she came home,” Carole Ward said.

An official cause of death is expected later this week.

County officials say they have known anecdotally about Ward’s COVID-19 status, but the Donley County Judge’s office has yet to be notified by the state that the woman tested positive for the disease even though more than a month has passed since she was first tested.

Since her official notice of her condition has not been received, Ward’s case of COVID-19 is still not included in the running tally published by the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, the Clarendon Family Medical Center on Tuesday reported two new cases of COVID-19 in Donley County.
That brings the official total number of confirmed cases locally to 45 with 42 of those listed as recovered and three cases still active.