COVID-19: Taylor County adds 1 death, 49 new cases Wednesday

Laura Gutschke, Abilene Reporter-News
·3 min read

The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District reported Wednesday one COVID-19-linked death, 49 new cases and 70 recoveries.

The total number of county deaths linked to the coronavirus is 550, of which five were reported this month.

Of the 49 new cases, nine were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction tests.

Active cases total 708 (213 PCR cases and 495 confirmed via antigen tests). A week ago, active cases numbered 619.

The percentage of COVID-19 inpatients in the 16-county Abilene trauma service area was 5.15% of total capacity Tuesday, compared to 5.82% Monday and 6.50% Sunday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services COVID-19 database.

The Abilene trauma service area Wednesday at 49 COVID-19 inpatients, five fewer than reported Tuesday. The state also reported Wednesday that eight admissions were made in the previous 24 hours.

Coronavirus by the numbers

Abilene/Taylor County (updated Wednesday): New cases, 49; PCR cases, 9,887; active PCR cases, 213; total antigen probable cases, 13,959; total active antigen cases, 495; total PCR recoveries, 9,475; total antigen recoveries, 13,113; Total deaths, 550.

Texas (updated Wednesday): Total cases, 3,598,564; New cases, 1,551; Active cases (estimated), 45,588; Hospitalized, 3,099; Fatalities, 73,147; New fatalities, 95; Total tests, 48,438,303; Recovered (estimated), 4,217,619.

Big Country estimated active cases (as tracked by the state): Stephens, 97; Scurry, 86; Brown, 67; Eastland, 52; Erath, 52; Howard, 49; Callahan, 47; Shackelford, 42; Comanche, 31; Runnels, 24; Nolan, 23; Haskell, 20; Coleman, 19; Kent, 16; Mitchell, 16; Knox, 12; Jones, 11; Coke, 9; Fisher, 6; Stonewall, 6; and Throckmorton, 4.

Select West Texas counties estimated active cases: Lubbock, 1,334; Midland, 787; Potter (Amarillo), 573; Randall (Canyon), 567; Ector (Odessa), 562; Wichita (Wichita Falls), 264; Tom Green (San Angelo), 191; Moore, 82; and Hale (Plainview), 62.

Sources: City of Abilene, Texas Department of State Health Services (counts PCR cases only)

SELECT PRISONS (Tuesday update)

Daniel (Snyder): Staff cases – active, 0; Inmate cases – active, 1, medical isolation, 1.

Havins (Brownwood): Staff cases – active, 3; Inmate cases – active, 0, medical isolation, 0.

Middleton (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 4; Inmate cases – active, 2, medical isolation, 3.

Robertson (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 4; Inmate cases – active, 1, medical isolation, 2.

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

Wallace (Colorado City): Staff cases – active, 5; Inmate cases – active, 7, medical isolation, 7.

Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice COVID-19 website.

SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

Abilene ISD: Reported Wednesday five new cases (two students, three staff members). New cases by campus: one student at Alcorta Elementary, one student and one staff member at Bowie Elementary, one staff member at Cooper High and one staff member at Stafford Elementary.

Active cases total 29 (18 students, 11 staff members), the same number Tuesday. Since Aug. 3, the district has reported 1,314 cases (1,064 students, 250 staff members).

Wylie ISD: Reported Wednesday one new student case, with seven active cases, two fewer than Tuesday.

Active cases by campus (six students, one staff member): one student at East Junior High, one student and one staff member at West Junior High, one student at Wylie High and three students at West Elementary.

Abilene Christian University: Reported Wednesday zero new cases, with four active cases, three fewer than Tuesday. Of the active cases, 75% are unvaccinated. Due to possible exposure, four people are in quarantine. Cumulative cases since Aug. 17 total 196.

McMurry University: Reported Monday that a student had tested positive within recent days. The campus has three active cases, and cumulative cases since Aug. 1 is 94.

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.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: COVID-19: Taylor County adds 1 death, 49 new cases Wednesday