COVID-19: Thursday update for Abilene, Taylor County, the Big Country

COVID-19 data from the Abilene Taylor County Public Health District was not available Thursday because of the Veterans Day holiday. Reporting will resume Friday.

Data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice also was not updated Wednesday.

Coronavirus by the numbers

Texas (updated Thursday): Total cases, 993,841; New cases, 5,756; Active cases (estimated), 138,137; Hospitalized, 6,925; Fatalities, 19,147; Total tests, 9,998,737; Recovered (estimated), 838,950.

Big Country counties with reported confirmed cases (based on PCR tests as tracked by the state): Jones, 1,499; Howard, 1,313; Scurry, 1,282; Erath, 1,177; Brown, 786; Nolan, 511; Comanche, 403; Runnels, 318; Eastland, 303; Mitchell, 240; Stephens, 201; Callahan, 172; Coleman 141; Fisher, 138; Coke, 137; Knox, 114; Haskell, 90; Shackelford, 44; Stonewall, 22; Throckmorton, 20; Kent, 16.

Select West Texas counties: Lubbock, 23,913; Potter (Amarillo), 9,924; Randall (Canyon), 7,467; Midland, 6,213; Wichita (Wichita Falls), 5,082; Ector (Odessa), 4,625; Hale (Plainview), 3,269; Tom Green (San Angelo), 2,916; Moore (Dumas), 1,465.

Sources: City of Abilene, Texas Department of State Health Services (counts PCR cases only), San Angelo Standard-Times, Scurry County, Eastland County, Brown County

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Abilene ISD: Reported on Wednesday 21 new cases: four students and one staff member at Abilene High, one student at Mann Middle School, one student and one staff member at Madison Middle School, one student at Austin Elementary, one student at Long Early Learning, two staff members at Dyess Elementary, two staff members at Jackson Elementary, one staff member in Maintenance, one staff member at Bowie Elementary, one staff member at ATEMS, one staff member at Ortiz Elementary, one staff member at Martinez Elementary, one staff member at Mann Middle School and one staff member at Clack Middle School.

As of Wednesday, the district had 131 active cases (67 students and 64 staff). Total number of cases since Aug. 17 is 330 (170 students and 160 staff).

Wylie ISD: Reported on Thursday 48 active cases, which is two more than Wednesday. Breakdown of cases by campus: 25 at Wylie High School, one at East Junior High, 13 at West Junior High, three at West Intermediate, two at East Elementary, one at West Elementary, one at West Early Childhood and two at other (maintenance, operations, transportation).

Abilene Christian University: Reported on Thursday 62 active cases, which is two more than Wednesday. There are 127 people quarantined due to potential exposure, which is six more than last reported. Cumulative cases number 367, which is seven more than previously reported. 

McMurry University: Reported on Wednesday one new student COVID-19 case. The university has 13 active cases, which is one more than reported Monday, out of 84 total this fall.

Scurry County adds 1 death, 39 new cases

SNYDER – Scurry County health officials reported on Thursday that the death of a man between the ages of 70 and 80 is the 17th in the county linked to COVID-19.

The county, which did not release data on Veterans Day, also reported 39 new cases and 14 additional recoveries. 

"Currently, Scurry County is averaging 15.2 new cases per day for the month of November, which would put us even further ahead of projections," officials said in a social media update. "COVID fatigue is real, but this is not the time to become lax with precautions." 

The county has 131 active cases out of 1,079 confirmed since the pandemic began. 

Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.