Ochiltree General Hospital has again tested no new cases of COVID-19 this week.
According to Chief Nursing Officer Jyme Kinnard, RN, OGH completed 31 total COVID-19 tests in the last seven days, with no positive cases.
Kinnard said the last positive case at the hospital was tested on March 17. OGH’s numbers included non-county residents as well as residents from Ochiltree County.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is recording numbers almost as low. According to data from TDSHS, last updated last Thursday, the county has had only three new cases of the virus in the previous 14 days, a decrease of 99% over the prior 14 days.
The TDSHS reports state that the county has had a total of 2,419 cases since the pandemic began in 2020 and 48 confirmed deaths.
The state’s data can lag at least a few days out of date, due to the high volume of cases TDSHS must process statewide.
Medical experts emphasize that, though the virus is currently on the decline, it remains a serious threat. The COVID-19 online dashboard for the Texas Department of State Health Services indicated there had been 719 new cases of the virus across the State of Texas on Tuesday afternoon, along with 38 newly reported fatalities.
Data from the TDSHS indicate that as of Monday, the total percentage of vaccinated persons in Ochiltree County was 39%. The percentage of vaccinated persons aged 65 and older was 77%. The percentage of all vaccinated persons in the county who had also received a booster shot was just 8%, though for those 65 years of age or older, the percentage was 33%.
The dominant variant of the virus, dubbed the Omicron variant, is considered more transmissible than the standard strain, but less deadly than previous strains, particularly for individuals who have received COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
COVID-19 symptoms include fever and/or chills, dry cough, fatigue, body aches and muscle or joint pain, shortness of breath, sore throat, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, nasal congestion, and a loss of taste or smell.