Donley COVID cases rising; Second death reported

Donley County has added 23 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, and County Judge John Howard, MD, said a second death has now occurred locally because of the disease.

“If you want a more important number, we have had 91 positive tests at the clinic in the month of November,” Howard said. “Of those, nine have been hospitalized. That’s what everybody needs to know. That’s a rate of one in ten people going to the hospital.”

The Clarendon Family Medical Center reported 44 active cases on Monday afternoon, and the clinic conducted 68 tests in the period from November 17 through November 23, bringing the total number of tests conducted locally to 666. Of those 193 have been positive, and 473 have been negative.

Combined with the known cases that have tested outside of the county, there have now been 224 confirmed positive cases and two deaths in Donley County since the pandemic began.

Because of discrepancies between regional and state reporting and a lag of the state updating local officials, Howard suspects the number of positive cases in Donley County is probably actually closer to 250.

Clarendon Family Medical Center spokesperson Marsha Bruce says people need to take the virus seriously.

“If you don’t believe in COVID-19, that’s fine,” Bruce said. “You don’t have to get a test, but if you’re sick, stay home.”
Bruce also said there is no apparent “hot spot” and that the virus is “everywhere.” She also said there is no truth to the notion that if you get, you’ll be immune to getting it again.

“People do get it again,” she said.

Last week, Bruce said symptoms of the disease also vary widely and said the clinic has seen a lot of cases with gastrointestinal issues – nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea as well as people who think they just have a sinus infection.

As reported previously, Donley County Judge John Howard, MD, has expressed frustration with the state reporting system, not only for the time lag but also how the state is handling the results of rapid tests like those now being conducted at the local clinic.

The state, Howard said, will not count a positive rapid test as a confirmed COVID-19 case unless it is backed up by the more invasive swab test.

“They will report those as ‘probable’ or ‘pending,’ but I assure you the only way you’re going to get a positive rapid test is if in fact you have COVID,” Howard said.

The state’s online dashboard, therefore, will not show the same number of “confirmed” COVID cases in Donley County as reported in the Enterprise, and Howard also said the online dashboard of the Childress Regional Medical Center is “in no way official.”