Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials in the Nov. 20 COVID-19 update reported 4 new lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases and a patient count of 19 patients in the hospital COVID Unit.
HC/SSEM Nov. 20 COVID-19 Update
That makes 28 additional Hopkins County residents whose COVID-19 test results came back positive this week and 95 who received positive results this month. Cumulatively, 779 Hopkins County residents have tested positive for novel coronavirus 2019 since March, according to the HC/SSEM Nov. 20 COVID-19 update. That’s a cumulative positivity rate of 2.1 percent for the overall Hopkins County population.
There were no COVID-19 recoveries reported on Friday, marking the 11th straight day without any Hopkins County residents recovering from COVID-19. Earlier this month 82 residents had recovered, increasing the cumulative number of recoveries to 622.
That leaves 157 Hopkins County residents who still had COVID-19 on Nov. 20. That’s the highest active case count so far this year, the most since Oct. 30, when the active case count fell from 159 to 144.
There also were no new fatalities reported for Hopkins County on Nov. 20. The 50 COVID-19 deaths previously confirmed by death certificate accounted for only about 0.13 percent of the population. The fatality rate among positive cases, however, was 6.42.
The testing site at 128-A Jefferson St. also performed 111 COVID-19 tests on Thursday, for a total of 573 swab tests performed at the site in the past 7 days and 1,473 molecular tests so far this month. Since the free testing site opened on Sept. 25, a total of 3,866 oral tests have been conducted, HC/SSEM noted in the Nov. 20 COVID-19 update.
Molecular testing will continue to be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays in November. Register online at www.GoGetTested.com for the oral swab test.
Hospital Counts
The COVID Unit at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs held 19 patients on Friday, HC/SSEM reported in the Nov. 20 COVID-19 update. That’s eclipses the previous high of 17 reported by HC/SSEM on Nov. 19, Nov. 10, Nov. 16, and Sept. 28.
The COVID count at hospitals across the state also rose Friday. COVID hospitalizations accounted for 12.03 percent of the total hospital capacity on Friday, up from 11.92 percent on Thursday, Nov. 19. That’s 8,164 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients currently in Texas hospital, out of 67,845 total staffed hospital beds and 62,140 total staff inpatient beds. That leaves available 11,214 hospital beds, 877 ICU beds and 7,440 ventilator, according to the Nov. 20 Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Case Counts COVID-19 dashboard for Test and Hospital Data.
In Trauma Service Area F, which includes Hopkins County and CMFHSS, there was 1 more staff hospital bed on Friday, and 1 more staffed inpatient bed than the 1,019 reported on Thursday. The number of total available beds has continued to increase over the last two days, rising from 364 on Wednesday to 375 on Thursday and finally, 387 available hospital beds in TSA-F on Friday. The number of available ventilators increased by 1 daily, from 74 on Wednesday to 76 on Friday in TSA-F. There were 14 available ICU beds on Friday. five more than on Wednesday and Thursday and 3 more than on Monday. There was 1 less lab-confirmed COIVD-19 patient in the hospital in TSA-F on Friday than the 149 reported on Nov. 19; the 148 on Friday was still 10 more COVID hospital patients than on Tuesday and nine more patients than on Monday, according to the DSHS data.
Trauma Service Area F Categories Nov. 17, 2020 Counts Nov. 18, 2020 Counts Nov. 19, 2020
CountsNov. 20, 2020 Counts Population Estimate 2020 273,329 273,329 273,329 273,329 Total Staffed Hospital Beds 1,057 1,075 1,110 1,111 Available Hospital Beds 364 364 375 387 Available ICU Beds 11 9 9 14 Available Ventilators 75 74 75 76 Lab-Confirmed COVID-19 Patients in Hospital 139 138 149 148 Total Staffed Inpatient Beds 966 984 1,019 1,020
HHS Facility Case Counts
Texas Health and Human Services reported no active cases among assisted living facilities in Sulphur Springs on Nov. 6 and none among licensed child care centers, school-age programs, and before- or after-school programs as of Nov. 19.
The Nov. 20 HHS nursing facility report showed 2 additional resident COIVD-19 deaths at Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab on Nov. 6. That’s 37 total resident fatalities among the 167 residents at Sulphur Springs nursing homes who have tested positive since March: 24 fatalities at Carriage House Manor, 6 at SSHR and 7 at Sunny Springs Nursing & Rehab as of Nov. 6, the most recent nursing facility data available from HHS.
Five additional employees had tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 6 for a total of 16 positive employee cases among Sulphur Springs nursing facilities. Carriage House had 1 positive case on Nov. 6; Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab had 14, 1 more than the day before; and Sunny Springs Nursing and Rehab still had 1 positive employee cases, according to the Nov. 20 HHS nursing facility report.
One additional resident recovery was also reported at SSHR on Nov. 6, leaving 13 active resident cases at the facility. One resident at Rock Creek Health and Rehabilitation still had COVID-19, while another resident at Carriage House Manor had tested positive, giving the facility two active resident cases on Nov. 6, according to the Nov. 20 HHS nursing facility report.
