The Ticking Time Bomb: Waiting for the First Coronavirus Sighting in San Angelo

 

SAN ANGELO, TX — The report from the City of San Angelo Health Department this afternoon was that so far, as of March 19 at 5 p.m., there are no reported cases of COVID-19 in the county.

Here are the current stats:

COVID-19 tests done in San Angelo (as of 5 p.m. March 19):


  • 68 total tests taken

  • 11 negative tests
  • 
57 pending results from the lab

Yesterday, health care officials said the COVID-19 tests are taking as long as seven days to return from the lab. As the number of those tested increases, the lag time to receive results induces a higher number of coronavirus cases that could be reported.

Statewide, the count of coronavirus cases jumped from 143 and an additional 3 deaths at noon yesterday to 194 and 5 deaths at noon today, a 37 percent increase in just one day. The number of tests administered and reported by the labs more than doubled overnight, from 2,335 Thursday to 5,277 today.

With 199 cases reported Friday against 5,277 tests, the rate of confirmed cases is 3.8 percent. Yesterday, that number approached 6 percent.

if you multiply 3.8 percent by the 57 pending test results not yet back to San Angelo from the lab, based on those percentages, there is a chance 2 confirmed cases in San Angelo could be reported soon. Keep in mind those being tested are screened first by a doctor to determine if they are at risk enough or exposed enough to warrant one.

Who is eligible for a coronavirus test?

The Texas Tribune looked into that yesterday. In Texas, health care professionals are following Centers for Disease Control Guidelines. They were told to get tested, you must:

  • Be a high-risk patient
  • Be a hospital patient with COVID-19 symptoms

  • Be a Health care worker who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus

  • Be a patient with recent travel history in areas that have been affected by the disease

Writer Peggy Noonan used her weekly column in the Wall Street Journal to describe her journey to finally getting tested for coronavirus (See “We Need to Absorb All This”, March 19, 2020). Despite showing all the symptoms of being infected by the coronavirus — coughing and a fever — she was denied a test until she recalled she had interviewed someone in person who may have been in contact with another person infected with coronavirus. She is awaiting the results from the lab.

Shannon Medical Center has a drive-up coronavirus testing facility at the corner of Oakes St. at Beauregard Ave. near the Shannon Hospital. You will see the signs. Drive-up screening is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. But to get a coronavirus test, you will need an order from a nurse practitioner or doctor. Starting Monday, Shannon is stationing a senior health care professional — a doctor or nurse practitioner — at the drive-up screening area who has authority to order the test on the spot. But still, the screening medical provider will have to order a test according to CDC criteria mentioned above.

 

Here's where the drive-up coronavirus testing area is:

Shannon said as of Friday afternoon that tests are still taking 7 days to come back.

While awaiting the results of the test, the patient will receive instructions regarding self-quarantine and the next steps they must take until test results are returned. Also, patients who have been screened at another location may come to the site for testing with a provider’s order.

As more testing is accomplished across Texas and San Angelo, expect the number of confirmed cases to rise rapidly until the backlog of test results empties. Also realize that the tests are administered to those who meet the CDC guidelines and are more likely to test positive than someone in the general population not at-risk or having symptoms. This also means officials in San Angelo are highly likely to report the first confirmed case here very soon.

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It's this fear Joe is referring to that is driving the panic and pandemonium of our leaders and citizenry. Listen, we know the Chinese virus is bad, okay? The media has been harping and harping and harping on it for weeks now. Joe, we got it, man. So, in addition to "social distancing" or "self-quarantining" or "being laid off", what the h else are we supposed to do? Give it a frigging rest already. People are sick all right, sick of hearing about this stupid Chinese virus every dadgum minute.

Not to mention, chloroquine and azithromycin cures the disease in six days. Funny, that is not being mentioned by any of the local news media. I guess anything positive is taboo to "journalists."

wDougL, Fri, 03/20/2020 - 18:49

.... recorded and written by Don Henley and performed by the Eagles... and this comment by Johnny reminds me of that song. If you haven't heard it, search it up on YouTube or YouTube Music app ...it pretty much agrees with Mr. Rutherford and his comment. May as well give it a listen ... since we're all pretty much contained to our homes, I've been listening to my favorites tunes alot since this craporona virus scare started. Y'all have a fun filled weekend and if you're short on toilet paper, get in touch with Ole Will the TP King, I don't know but I've been told ... he has TONS & TONS of the stuff! ;-D

To begin with it is not the Chinese Virus as Hanity decided to label it. I'll take a wild guess that is a couple of weeks the deniers will have a whole different prospective.

The TP problem seems to be that every time the stable genius opens his mouth and the experts contradict him his supporters have a bowel movement causing the TP shortage but I am here with a solution for your toilet paper needs however it Depends get your toilet paper here https://tinyurl.com/t5fypg3.

Joe, I've been critical of your reporting in the past, but what you are saying in this article is factual and not sensationalized.

Mr. Rutherford:

I strongly suspect that your viewpoint regarding the Trump Aided Virus will be demonstrated to be wholly bogus along with your assertions about untested treatments. For the sake of your sanity I hope you can cope with being made to look extraordinarily foolish.

Go wash your hands. They're probably dirty.

Expat there's no need for your propagandizing. The MSM is doing a fine job whipping up a scare already to the extent that if someone taking them seriously hasn't already caught the Chinese Xi Jinping flu, the stress itself is probably getting to them by now.

I think this is a time for us all to reflect on how interdependent the world has become and how united we are as Americans. Some people seem to see this event as an excuse to start curbing the freedoms of Americans the way China attempted to do to the Taiwanese or the way they unfortunately succeeded in doing to the poor Tibetans. It's unfortunate that we've even been put into this situation.

This is something that we wouldn't have to worry as much about if America still had tight borders and a strong manufacturing sector which would allow the nation to have greater self-reliance, to be less dependent on foreign goods, less vulnerable to adverse situations in foreign markets and have better control of who, and what, makes it into the country. It's also a situation that would allow the United States to put more pressure on the country of origin for this global pandemic for their mistreatment of people like the Tibetans.

The Tibetans are a rugged, deeply religious people who love animals and the outdoors. At one time they carried big knives like bowie knives, rode horses for fun and spent their free time with family and friends having a bit to drink, maybe fighting a bit, but often praying. The Tibetans have been described as being a lot like the Native Americans of the southwest, but also being a lot like cowboys. They were free... but then the Leftist Chinese Maoists came along and visited upon them torment upon torment.

https://youtu.be/aarIvZrL9Ws

America has long been known as a beacon of freedom in the world. We tried to help the Tibetans, but China was too strong. We're at a point in history where we can make America great again and help the oppressed in the world. We should take this opportunity to take back our manufacturing, control our immigration laws that the Chinese have been using to spy and manipulate the country, and to stand up for the things their ruling elites took from so many and which our own Left wants to take from us.

You really think the President is "assisting" the Xi Jinping flu? You got another thing comin'.

"You really think the President is "assisting" the Xi Jinping flu? You got another thing comin'."

Yes. His stupidity and willful ignorance are doing this.

One can't be both incapable of understanding a thing (stupid) but also understand a thing and choose to ignore it (willfully ignorant). Xi Jinping's stupidity didn't do this, but rather, (if we assume the best,) his willful ignorance in letting the virus fester in Wuhan throughout 2019 until it became the next SARS. He didn't need any help letting it spread throughout China until the entire world was afflicted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwqhvRcBrK4&feature=youtu.be

68 total tests taken for a city over 100,000, you might never find a case at that rate. People prob have it but not test

Wabo73, Fri, 03/20/2020 - 23:48

So how is it in a town of 100,000 no one has it? Bs no one is saying there is but that’s why Shannon sent home a lot of patients a week or so ago because they thought they had one Plus this is a college town there’s people with it and I bet they don’t even know they do. Even if it’s less than .5 % of 100,000 come on it’s here already and looking for over a week for tp is bull crap I hope every moron that bought loads of tp all get it and die Heaven forbid we run out of stuff to wipe out a s s with. I been shopping for others and it’s a pain it needs be one package and that’s it or start buying rags and shovels and go outside

To deny the fact that COVID-19 is a very contagious virus and not a flu as the talking heads claim. The malaria vaccine that Trump claims is a cure is as DR. Fauci called the Malaria vaccine anecdotal https://tinyurl.com/vbqgd4p. Trump is peddling false hope and that can cause many lost lives. Go ahead and deny the facts.

Trump isnt a doctor. In fact, hes no more qualified to make assumptions or predictions about this virus than any one of us. Why are you expecting medical information from a man who's expertise is almost entirely in business matters? He gets his information from the crooked CDC who is funded by big pharma. This is where his information is supposed to come from concerning pandemics, so if his information is wrong it's because the CDC is lying. Now that we have covered that, I'll move on to my original comment topic. Because no one will listen when asked nicely to stay home, we will now see a military presence on our streets the likes of which none of as have seen before. No one is taking it seriously. When a third of the city is dead you'll realize that human stupidity knows no boundaries.

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