New COVID-19 Cases Up in Matagorda County photo

New COVID-19 Cases Up in Matagorda County

At the time this post was written at 6:43am on November 5, 2020, Matagorda County has logged 41 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 14 days. That’s 15 more new cases than the previous 14-day period, and 19 more than the 14-day period before that.

Simply put, we are seeing a 58% increase of new cases in Matagorda County when we compare the last two 14-day periods[1]. Overall, using the same DSHS data and calculations, the State of Texas as a whole has experienced a 46% increase in new cases when comparing the last two 14-day periods[2].

When you think about days like July 10, where we had more new cases in one day than we’ve had in the past 14 days combined[3], Matagorda County is still in very good shape from a public health perspective. However, as promised, the hospital district and the Matagorda County EOC would like to call attention to this upward trend in new COVID-19 cases in our community.

Tips for the Holidays

As we approach the travel and festivities of the Holiday Season, we encourage everyone to remain committed to the hand hygiene, physical distancing, and proper face mask wearing procedures to which we’ve all become accustomed in recent months. This is especially important for multi-generational family and social gatherings where vulnerable populations including older adults and people with underlying medical conditions may be present.

We also encourage anyone who is sick, has a suspected COVID-19 diagnosis, or has been around someone with a COVID-19 diagnosis in the past 14 days to consider postponing travel and avoiding gatherings. More Holiday tips and insight can be found on the CDC website here.

Following the Numbers

Links to all of the COVID-19 data presented here can be found on the Matagorda Regional Medical Center’s COVID-19 information page by clicking here.  The COVID-19 page has been updated in the past week to highlight direct public access to the information many of us use to make decisions for our ourselves and our loved ones.

Here is a description of some of the most useful links on MRMC’s COVID-19 page:

If you’re looking for a quick overview of COVID-19 data on a daily or weekly basis, this is a great page to scan the number of new cases and fatalities by day. Be sure to click on Matagorda County in the map or select Matagorda County from the drop-down menu, since the data naturally defaults to information for the entire State of Texas.

This is the main DSHS dashboard for all COVID-19 data. It can be slow to load depending on your internet speed, but it offers comprehensive access to a plethora of data from raw daily numbers to demographics. There are multiple tabs at the bottom of the screen, so be sure to click on Matagorda County in the map every time you choose a new tab since the data naturally defaults to information for the entire State of Texas.

If you want access to raw data in Excel format so you can run your own trends like the trend information presented in this post, this link is for you. This information is not as “user friendly,” meaning you’ll have to create your own search filters and pivot tables, but DSHS provides a very comprehensive COVID-19 data repository.

Matagorda County is served by the SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC). This link will take you to the SETRAC COVID Executive Hospital Summary which provides a wealth of hospital-related COVID data. Arrows at the bottom of the page will walk you through all 7 pages of information. Be sure to choose “TSA_Q” and “Matagorda” in the filters on each page to see information for Matagorda County.

Governor Abbott has issued two Executive Orders to reopen certain venues to 75% capacity and allow for the resumption of elective surgeries. To qualify, counties must be in a Trauma Service Area (TSA) where the number of COVID‑19 hospitalized patients as a percentage of all hospitalized patients has been 15% or less for seven consecutive days. Matagorda County is located in Trauma Service Area Q (TSA-Q). This link will take you to the DSHS-maintained page that lists counties that are NOT authorized to reopen.

Questions and Feedback

Questions or comments about the data found by following links in this post should be directed to DSHS by email at pressofficer@dshs.texas.gov. Questions or comments about the interpretation of the data presented in this post should be sent to the Matagorda County Emergency Operations Center by email at covid19@co.matagorda.tx.us.

Hospital district officials will not respond to inquiries regarding patient-specific or case-specific information, and will not speculate or project COVID-19 data past what is publicly reported by DSHS. Media and general community inquiries not related to individual or personal health status should be sent to Aaron Fox, MCHD’s Chief Business Development Officer and acting PIO at afox@matagordaregional.org.

Thanks for reading and thank you for continuing to do all you can to slow and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Matagorda County.

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[1] 41 new cases from 10/22 to 11/4 compared to 26 new cases from 10/8 to 10/21.
[2] 81,509 new cases from 10/22 to 11/4 compared to 55,733 new cases from 10/8 to 10/21.
[3] 42 new cases were reported by DSHS on July 10, 2020 alone.

This update was generated by MRMC’s Public & Media Relations Team based on information shared by our employees, community members, and/or partners. If you have any questions or comments, or if you believe that the information displayed here is incorrect in whole or in part, contact the Public & Media Relations Team directly by clicking here.