Coronavirus cases spike in Falls County, 276 total

Falls County has seen a steep incline in COVID-positivity in the last few weeks, but this past week tops the charts. Total cases have increased by nearly 25 percent, active cases have nearly doubled, and the county beat the record for number of cases it’s had in a 24-hr period.

The previous record for the number of cases reported in Falls County on the same day, recorded on July 23, was 17. Sept. 25 saw more than double that, with 38 additional cases.

On Sept. 28, there were 276 total cases with 56 of them recorded the week prior. There were 176 recovered cases and 98 active, up 44 cases from the previous Monday. 

There have been no additional deaths from coronavirus this week in Falls County, leaving the county with five fatalities thus far. 

Of the surrounding counties of similar population, Falls County looks to be the only one that’s having a surge, though state officials warn that most counties will begin to see these effects as fall continues.

Limestone, Robertson, and Milam Counties have increased by five percent or less over the last week.

Limestone County had about 25 active cases less than Falls on Monday, with a total of 568 cases recorded and 482 recoveries. Total cases increased by about two percent, or 12 cases. Limestone had a small surge the week of Sept. 14, but more people have recovered than have contracted the virus, so there has been a decrease in active cases. There have been 13 reported deaths within the county.

Robertson County had 42 active cases, up only two cases from the week before. There was a five percent increase in total cases in that time frame, bringing the total number of cases to 309 from 292. There are 264 recovered cases and three fatalities have occured. 

Milam County is the least COVID-infected of the bunch at this point, despite having the most number of cases between the four counties. There were only 5 active cases recorded Monday, down 10 from Sept. 21. There have been 487 recoveries and six deaths.

The State of Texas surpassed 700,000 total cases this week, with the additional 10,000 cases needed to reach 750,000 expected to surface within the next few days. There were about 67,500 active cases on Monday, down almost 5,000 from Sept 21. There have been about 650,000 recoveries and 15,500 fatalities from coronavirus.

State Officials continue to monitor the situation and are putting plans in place for how to move forward. Falls County resumed 50 percent occupancy levels on Sept. 27 due to the high number of hospitalizations within Trama Service Area TSA-M, which encompasses Bosque, Falls, Hill Limestone, and McLennan Counties. 

Local schools have been plagued with complications from the virus as well, with athletic events at all three area schools being canceled and/or rescheduled and campus closures. The Texas Education Agency began reporting COVID-19 data from Texas public schools earlier this month, divulging the total number of student and staff cases found within Texas Public Schools. 

The latest data shows that the week of Sept. 20, there were 1212 students throughout the 1,250 school districts in Texas who had been confirmed with COVID-19. There were a total of 660 staff members who had been diagnosed. 

Residents are asked to continue following the facial covering and social distancing protocols in place, as well as they are reminded to wash hands frequently and to refrain from touching their face, eyes, or mouth.

For more information on the spread of coronavirus, how to prevent infection, or for the most current data, head to http://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/