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By Dawn Burleigh

Orange Leader

 

After seeing a sign of hope of the numbers slowing down last week, this week is a different story with 194 more cases in Orange County. There is now 1.43% of the population of Orange County with the virus. The number of deceased is now art 14, six higher than it was last week.

Bridge City area saw the highest increase with 57 more persons testing positive this week bring the cities numbers up to 170.

Vidor also had an increase with 47 more persons testing positive this week for COVID-19 bring the number of cases since March to 240.

The city of Orange has 33 more positives in the area bring the number up to 218.

The number of persons hospitalized due to the virus rose from 17 to 22 this week. The number in ICU remains at one.

While woman appear to be more likely to have COVID-19 in Orange County with 511 having COVID-19 since the pandemic began, men are not far behind at 509. However, while there are great concerns for the elderly in the community, the ages most likely to test positive range from 21-60 with those ranging from 160-165 being positive. The next age group is ages 61-70 with 133 having tested positive.

Patients with COVID‑19 have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

Fever

Cough

Shortness of breath

Other symptoms reported with COVID-19 include:

Chills

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID‑19, according to the CDC website. The best way to prevent infection is to take steps to avoid exposure to this virus, which are similar to the steps you take to avoid the flu.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recommends these everyday actions to help prevent the spread of any respiratory virus, including COVID‑19:

• Wash hands often for 20 seconds and encourage others to do the same. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are unavailable.
• Wear a cloth face covering in public and during large gatherings.
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue away.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Disinfect surfaces, buttons, handles, knobs, and other places touched often.
• Stay six feet apart from others.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

DSHS recommends that you practice social distancing. Social distancing involves staying away from other people to avoid catching or spreading illness. It’s a fancy term for avoiding crowds and minimizing physical contact. This could mean avoiding concerts or weddings, skipping the handshake, and/or staying at least six feet away from others.

Additionally, DSHS and the CDC recommend using simple cloth face coverings in public to help slow the spread of the virus.