More unsettling news on the Covid front: Erath County gets 49 more cases, 18 hospitalizations.
Calling it a “very serious” situation, Stephenville’s health authority Dr. Kelly Doggett sounded the alarm on Tuesday when 49 new cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed locally and Texas Health Stephenville continued to operate at near capacity.
“We have 18 in the hospital today,” Dr. Doggett told Beneath the Surface News. “We do have a little bit more capacity as far as rooms, but not enough staff.
“Nurses and respiratory technicians are needed to take care of those patients and we simply don’t have enough right now. The situation is very serious.” Adding to the problem is the number of people testing positive with over-the-counter tests, which are not reported to the county.
“People need to wake up and take this seriously. If they don’t this is going to get completely out of hand in a hurry,” Dr. Doggett said. “The damage we are doing to our society is largely self-inflicted because, for the most part, people are ignoring the pandemic and trying to get on with their lives as though things are normal. They are not.
“There is a way out. We just need to summon up the resolve to do what it takes. Wear masks. Maintain social distancing. Wash your hands. Get vaccinated.
“Otherwise, the longer the virus is in circulation the higher the probability is that more variants develop.”
