New COVID case reported here Monday

One new positive case of COVID-19 has been reported in Donley County, according to Judge John Howard, MD.

Speaking Monday morning, Howard said the state had tested about 4,000 people in area meat packing plants with 1,111 positive cases reported afterward. One of those is a Donley County resident, Howard said.

Also on Monday, the judge said the Texas National Guard was in Clarendon to test more than 40 residents at the local nursing home as well as the staff at that facility. If any of those tests come back positive, the judge will be notified.

Meanwhile, the count of tests run on Donley County residents by the Clarendon Family Medical Center totaled 106 as of Monday. Three of those are pending, 20 have been positive, 83 have been negative. Six local people have now received a positive test outside the county, bringing the total local COVID cases to 26 with at least 21 of those having recovered.

On the state level, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Monday the start of Phase II in the reopening of the Texas economy. He said gyms, child care centers, and boys’ and girls’ clubs could re-open with safety guidelines effective May 18 and said that restaurants could expand to 50 percent capacity starting on Friday. Rodeos, professional sports, scouting, youth camps, and other activities can also resume this month.

However, due to the spiking numbers, largely in the Amarillo area meat packing industry, the following Panhandle counties would be delayed one week in moving to Phase II – Potter, Randall, Deaf Smith, and Moore.

“We must continue to place health and safety first and foremost,” Abbott said. “Be a good neighbor. Be a Texan.”
For more on the governor’s plan to reopen the economy, visit Gov.Texas.Gov/OpenTexas.