COVID-19: Taylor County adds 3 deaths, 121 cases Wednesday

The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District on Wednesday reported three deaths linked to the coronavirus COVID-19, 121 new cases and 59 recoveries.

The deceased, each a male in his 60s, 70s or 80s, had preexisting conditions, officials said. The number of Taylor County deaths connected to the illness is 79, and the average age is 75. 

The new cases are based on 48 polymerase chain reaction tests and 73 antigen tests. 

Active cases jumped to 1,576 (675 PCR cases and 901 antigen cases). The total number of cases confirmed in Taylor County has surpassed 5,000 to reach 5,068.

COVID-19 inpatients at Abilene hospitals total 57, which is one less than reported Tuesday. The average age of the hospitalized is 63, with 20 of the patients living outside the county.

More:Taylor County judge corrects COVID-19 hospitalization rate to 8.2%

In addition, Taylor County Judge Downing Bolls issued a statement Tuesday correcting a previous statement about the county's number of lab confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The corrected information, Bolls said, is that current lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations are 8.2%, not 16% as reported by the county earlier this week. The figure is for the Abilene-center trauma service area. 

Bolls said the error came from misreading a spreadsheet showing data from Trauma Service Area D, which includes Abilene and Taylor County, provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Coronavirus by the numbers

Abilene/Taylor County (updated Wednesday): Total positive PCR cases, 2,414; active PCR cases, 675; total antigen probable cases, 2,654; total antigen active cases, 901; total PCR recoveries, 1,685; total antigen recoveries, 1,728; Total deaths, 79; Current hospitalizations at Abilene facilities, 57.

Texas (updated Wednesday): Total cases, 926,400; New cases, 9,049; Active cases (estimated), 112,776; Hospitalized, 5,872; Fatalities, 18,320; Total tests, 9,268,311; Recovered (estimated), 797,586.

Big Country counties with reported confirmed cases (based on PCR tests as tracked by the state): Howard, 1,231; Scurry, 1,194; Erath, 1,094; Brown, 717; Jones, 616; Nolan, 457; Comanche, 383; Runnels, 308; Eastland, 273; Mitchell, 220; Stephens, 171; Callahan, 147; Coke, 133; Fisher, 124; Knox, 114; Coleman 99; Haskell, 89; Shackelford, 40; Stonewall, 21; Throckmorton, 19; Kent, 12.

Select West Texas counties: Lubbock, 20,788; Potter (Amarillo), 8,766; Midland, 5,843; Randall (Canyon), 6,212; Wichita (Wichita Falls), 4,292; Ector (Odessa), 4,213; Hale (Plainview), 2,826; Tom Green (San Angelo), 2,690; Moore (Dumas), 1,380.

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

SELECT PRISONS (Tuesday update)

Daniel (Snyder): Staff cases – active, 2, recovered, 38; Inmate cases – active, 1, recovered, 237, medical isolation, 1. 

Havins (Brownwood): Staff cases – active, 0, recovered, 15; Inmate cases – active, 0, recovered, 125, medical isolation, 0. 

Middleton (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 3, recovered, 25; Inmate cases – active, 1, recovered, 183, medical isolation, 1. 

Robertson (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 29, recovered, 47; Inmate cases – active, 4, recovered, 232, medical isolation, 9. 

Sayle (Breckenridge): Staff cases – active, 3, recovered, 19; Inmate cases – active, 0, recovered, 50, medical isolation, 0.

Wallace (Colorado City): Staff cases – active, 5, recovered, 22; Inmate cases – active, 0, recovered, 410, medical isolation, 0. 

Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice COVID-19 website

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Abilene ISD: Reported on Wednesday 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19: four students and two staff members at Cooper High School, three students and one staff member at Abilene High School, three students at ATEMS, one student at Mann Middle School, one student at Craig Middle School and one staff member each at Holland, Clack Medical School, Bonham Elementary and Johnston Elementary. 

The district has 92 active cases (49 students and 43 staff), which is 15 more than Tuesday. Total number of cases since Aug. 17 is 245 (128 students and 110 staff).

Wylie ISD: Reported on Wednesday 35 active cases, which is four more than Tuesday.  Breakdown of cases by campus: 15 at Wylie High School, two at East Junior High, 10 at West Junior High, two at West Intermediate, one at East Elementary, three at West Elementary, one at West Early Childhood and one at other (maintenance, operations, transportation).

Abilene Christian University: Reported on Wednesday 16 active cases, which is three more than Tuesday. There are 67 people quarantined due to potential exposure, which is five more than last reported. Cumulative cases number 302. The number of administered tests is 4,430, which includes PCR and antigen tests at the ACU Medical Clinic and in partnership with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

McMurry University: Reported on Tuesday one new COVID-19 student case.  The university has 11 active cases, which is one fewer than reported Monday, out of 73 total this fall.

More:COVID-19: Taylor County reports 107 new cases Tuesday; area's hospitalizations at 16.6%

Jones County active cases in the 30s

ANSON – Active COVID-19 cases in Jones County stood at 31 Wednesday, said Dr. Chad White, with the Jones County Public Health Authority.

"We’ve gotten down to a low over the last several weeks of about 15, but then have surged back up into the low- to mid-30s recently," White said in a social media update. "We need to keep working hard on protecting our friends and family and not sharing illnesses and viruses."

To slow the spread of the illness, White advised residents to "wear your mask when you’re in public and not able to social distance, and wash your hands frequently."

Eastland County active cases reach 39

EASTLAND – Eastland County on Wednesday announced 39 COVID-19 active cases, based on Tuesday data from state officials. 

"The number of cases has certainly risen. Please be cautious and kind,"  Dr. Robert Deluca, the county's medical director, stated in a news release. 

Since March, the number of confirmed cases is 383, with two deaths connected to the illness, the release said.

Brown County inpatients jump from 4 to 9

BROWNWOOD – Brown County health officials on Tuesday reported 33 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the county's active cases to 116. The county also had 17 additional recoveries.

Nine people are hospitalized at Brown County facilities for the illness, five more than reported Monday. 

The current totals for COVID-19 testing in Brown County as of Tuesday are:

• Total positive: 1,105
• Total negative: 4,545
• Cases confirmed by PCR test: 717
• Cases confirmed by antigen test: 388
• Deaths: 35
• Recovered: 954

Scurry County adds 26 cases

SNYDER – Scurry County health officials on Tuesday reported 26 new COVID-19 cases and 15 additional recoveries.

The number of active cases is 95, compared to 84 on Monday and 115 a week ago on Oct. 27. 

Of the 951 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the county, 840 have recovered. The deaths of 16 people are linked to the illness. 

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.