COVID-19 Wednesday update: Abilene area inpatients drops below 15%
The percentage of COVID-19 inpatients in the 16-county Abilene trauma service area is dropping.
The count was 14.82% of total capacity Tuesday, compared to 15.26% Monday, 15.20% Sunday and 14.63% Saturday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services COVID-19 database.
The Abilene trauma service area Tuesday had 134 COVID-19 inpatients, including 29 in the previous 24 hours. On Jan. 1, COVID-19 inpatients totaled 43.
The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District late Tuesday reported COVID-19 data for Friday, including 328 new cases and one death, raising the county's total number of pandemic fatalities to 580.
Of the 328 new cases, 96 were confirmed via polymerase chain reaction tests.
Active cases as of Friday totaled 3,690 (1,170 PCR cases and 2,520 based on antigen tests), compared to 3,423 reported Thursday and 2,125 a week previous.
Ranger ISD closes again
Ranger Independent School District announced Tuesday afternoon that schools will be closed the rest of the week due to a high number of COVID-19 cases as well as strep and the "stomach flu."
Classes had resumed Monday after two days of closure the previous week.
When classes return, the school day will be extended 10 minutes daily to make up for the lost instructional minutes instead of having to taking time during spring break or days at the end of the year.
Coronavirus by the numbers
Abilene/Taylor County (Friday data - most recent update available): New cases, 328; PCR cases, 11,033; active PCR cases, 1,170; total antigen probable cases, 16,495; total active antigen cases, 2,520; total PCR recoveries, 9,659; total antigen recoveries, 13,599; Total deaths, 580.
Texas (updated Wednesday): Total cases, 4,749,127; New cases, 47,966; Hospitalized, 12,905; Fatalities, 76,277; New fatalities, 154; Total tests, 54,936,619.
Big Country estimated new daily confirmed cases (Wednesday, as tracked by the state): Brown, 26; Callahan, 12; Coke, 3; Coleman, 3; Comanche, 2; Eastland, 10; Erath, 39; Fisher, 1; Haskell, 0; Howard, 6; Jones, 8; Kent, 0; Knox, 1; Mitchell, 5; Nolan, 40; Runnels, 4; Scurry, 72; Shackelford, 0; Stephens, 9; Stonewall, 0; and Throckmorton, 0.
Sources: City of Abilene, Texas Department of State Health Services (counts PCR cases only)
SELECT PRISONS (Tuesday update)
Daniel (Snyder): Staff cases – active, 11; Inmate cases – active, 0, medical isolation, 5.
Havins (Brownwood): Staff cases – active, 4; Inmate cases – active, 7, medical isolation, 7.
Middleton (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 60; Inmate cases – active, 20, medical isolation, 22.
Robertson (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 51; Inmate cases – active, 4, medical isolation, 4.
Sayle (Breckenridge): Staff cases – active, 28; Inmate cases – active, 1; medical isolation, 5.
Wallace (Colorado City): Staff cases – active, 29; Inmate cases – active, 1, medical isolation, 3.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice COVID-19 website.
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Abilene ISD: Reported Tuesday no new cases, with active cases totaling 721 (479 students, 242 staff), compared to 919 on Friday. Since Aug. 3, the district has reported 2,473 cases (1,779 students, 694 staff).
Wylie ISD: Reported Wednesday 133 new cases (108 students, 25 staff), with 317 active cases.
Active cases by campus (286 students, 31 staff): West Early Childhood (14 students, three staff), East Elementary (30 students, five staff), Wylie High (71 students, two staff), East Intermediate (10 students, one staff), West Junior High (54 students, five staff), West Elementary (23 students, six staff), East Junior High (43 students, seven staff), and West Intermediate (41 students, two staff).
Abilene Christian University: Reported Tuesday 67 new cases, with 75 active cases, seven more than were reported Friday. Cumulative cases since Aug. 17 total 507.
McMurry University: Reported between Saturday and Tuesday 19 new cases (18 students, one staff). The campus has 40 active cases, 16 more than reported Thursday, and cumulative cases since Aug. 1 is 163.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: COVID-19 Wednesday update: Abilene area inpatients drops below 15%
