Two more test positive for COVID-19. Total cases in Erath County now stands at 13.

By SARA VANDEN BERGE

Local officials have announced that two more patients tested positive Thursday for COVID-19. The number of coronavirus cases in Erath County now stands at 13.

Two Stephenville business owners said they were told by their letter carrier on Wednesday that one of the patients who recently tested positive works at the post office in Stephenville.

“They told me that one of their co-workers tested positive and asked how I wanted to handle it,” one of the business owners told me. “They were hesitant to hand me my mail in case they had been exposed.”

I called Stephenville City Manager Allen Barnes to ask if one of the patients was, in fact, employed at the post office.

“I can’t confirm or deny that,” Barnes said.

HOW ARE LOCAL PATIENTS RECOVERING?

The news of more positive tests comes one day after the city’s health authority, Dr. Kelly Doggett, said patients who have tested positive for coronavirus in Erath County appear to be getting better.

“There have been no hospitalizations,” Doggett said. “Some are taking a little longer than others to turn the corner and start feeling better, but as far as I know, there are no complications.”

The virus has also been linked to the death of an elderly man in his 80s.