Negative COVID-19 tests now number 74

One new case of COVID-19 was reported in Donley County last Friday, May 1, but the number of negative test results has grown to 74 this week, according to Judge John Howard, MD.

Clarendon Family Medical Center had conducted 95 tests on local residents as of Tuesday afternoon. One of those remained pending, but 74 were negative. Twenty local tests have come back positive, and five other local residents have tested positive at facilities outside the county.

“We’re conducting fewer tests because we’re not seeing as many sick people,” Howard said. “That’s good news for us.”
Of the positive cases, twenty-one have been listed as “recovered.” Howard says it’s possible that as many as three of the remaining four positive cases may be recovered also, but those are not under the care of the local clinic.

The new case reported on Friday appeared to be a result of “household spread,” Howard said, with the patient catching the virus from a family member with the disease during quarantine.

While COVID-19 in Donley County seems to have flattened out, cases in the Amarillo metro area and in Moore County have gone up dramatically. City officials in Amarillo announced last week that federal resources are being brought in to help manage the virus outbreak in there, and the state health department is taking over the cases in Moore County.
Amarillo media reported 75 new cases on Monday bringing the total in Potter and Randall counties to 1,172.

Howard still urges everyone to continue to follow social distancing guidelines and says older folks should continue to limit going out.

Also this week, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that hair salons and barbers would be allowed to reopen on Friday with gyms being able to open on Monday.

“If Texans stop using the distancing strategies we have been utilizing in the past month, they will cause an increase in COVID transmission,” Abbott said. “If that happens, it will lead to some counties having to impose stricter requirements.”

The Texas Tribune reported that Abbott’s announcement “came as the number of coronavirus cases in Texas increased to at least 33,369, including 906 deaths, according to the latest numbers from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The virus is present in 216 out of the state’s 254 counties.”