Case added to total, but none active

By Donnie A. Lucas

City officials are strongly urging the use of face coverings such as masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus as the school year kicks off next week and larger groups of residents will be together again for the first time since March.

For the second week in a row, county judge Robert Skelton reported no new cases in the county, as well as no active cases according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

The total number of positive cases was reported at 19 on Monday, up one from last week. However, Skelton said that the addition was not a new case.

“There was a new case assigned to Shackelford County on Monday, but the last date of home isolation for that case was July 10, so I’m not sure where that case had been assigned for a whole month,” he said.

The judge reported that the DSHS is listing a total of 19 confirmed positives and two probable cases, for a total of 21.

There were no active cases currently.

“I would ask everyone to continue to exercise caution and good common sense,” Skelton said. “The county has had another great week with no confirmed active cases, so let’s work to continue that trend.”

Albany mayor Susan Montgomery said that this was good news for the community.

“Having two weeks without any new cases is coming just at the right time,” she said. “It is great to see the decline.”

She added that it is particularly good news that the number of positive tests has gone so low during a time when social gatherings are on the rise, mainly because of the relaunching of a new school year.

“I want to commend the school administration, staff, and teachers for working so hard to get ready for students to return next week,” Montgomery said. “There has been a lot of extra work that has gone into preparing for this school year to open safely.”

The mayor strongly urged residents to do their part to help keep the transmission level as low as possible.

“I want to encourage everyone to be responsible as we go back to larger gatherings such as sporting events,” she said. “We can’t go backwards at this point.”

The mayor said that the city council is “highly recommending residents to wear face coverings” as people begin to meet in larger groups and classes start up again.

“Our personal responsibility increases now as school resumes,” she said. “It would be terrible to have gone through all the effort that has been put in to have to close back down because not everyone is taking personal responsibility to stay safe.

“Anyone who has underlying conditions should take extra precautions now, too,” she said.

While the county has not reached the level of cases that would require mandatory face coverings, officials are warning that it could happen.

“We have to stay diligent and not be selfish at this point,” Montgomery said. “We have come so far, let’s not stop now.”