Please Remember Your Local Business When Shopping This Season
Chamber Connection Nov. 26, 2020
By Lezley Brown, President/CEO, Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 2020 has been a year for the history books, and now … here we sit preparing for Thanksgiving Day!
The Friday after Thanksgiving is a day often referred to as Black Friday. It was named Black Friday because it described the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving.
Many people shop Black Friday, and that’s fantastic. However, this year is unlike any we have ever seen before, and our local businesses need you more than ever. Our small business owners are giving everything they’ve got to live their dreams, and we in return, can benefit from those dreams!
Hopkins County offers wonderful local shopping! Please make sure you spend at least some of your shopping at your favorite local place … stores, restaurants, venues, all of them. We love our Small Businesses, and we want them to continue to thrive and be successful in all they do.
I’m excited to let you know that we have begun work on the 2021 Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Directory. We distribute over 7,000 of these directories to visitors, relocation hopefuls, and even hometown heroes who are interested in learning more about our local businesses. They include historical information as well all things to the see and do in Hopkins County. The best part is, they include an alphabetical and categorical listing of your business.
LeeAnn Peugh, with Echo Publishing, will be contacting you in the next few weeks to see if you are interested in placing an ad in the directory. The rates are affordable, and one of the best ways to represent your business.
I hope you will consider this a wise investment with over 7,000 opportunities for business exposure. You may also contact the Chamber, and I will pass your information along to her.
I’m proud to produce this book telling all about the place we love. I hope you will join me in the journey!
The DBA is hosting a Christmas Market
The Downtown Business Alliance is hosting their annual Christmas Market on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over 24 vendors will be in place to sell clothing, décor, crafts, jams and goodies. There is no charge to enter the market, and it will be held on Main Street in Sulphur Springs. This is a perfect opportunity to shop local in 2020.
Lake Country CASA Benefits From Alliance Bank Donation
Tom Sellers, Alliance Bank President/CEO, presented a $1,000 donation on behalf of the bank in lieu of a public customer appreciation event to Lake Country CASA Executive Director Gina Law to the Court Appointed Special Advocates for children this week.
The contribution is especially appreciated this year as Lake Country CASA will not be able to host its annual fundraiser in order to ensure the safety of the children CASA serves as well as the supporters of the annual CASA Cookie Walk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds from the cookie walk are used to support the abused and neglected children assigned to CASAs.
Donations are always appreciated and may be mailed to Lake Country CASA at 218 Connally St., Sulphur Springs 75482, or visit the organization’s Facebook page for updates and general information about upcoming informational meetings, or call 903-885-1173 to find out more about becoming a CASA volunteer.
For more information about Alliance Bank, visit www.alliancebank.com, any branch location or the Alliance Bank Facebook Page.
Nov. 24 COVID-19 Update: 24 In COVID Unit, 58 Active Cases
Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials’ Nov. 24 COVID-19 update showed cumulative totals with 11 additional positive COVID-19 cases and 69 additional recoveries over their last report on Nov. 20. HC/SSEM also provided some additional demographic details for recent COVID-19 cases provided by DSHS.
Changes in State Reporting
The HC/SSEM officials in a Zoom press conference Tuesday afternoon noted that county emergency management officials will no longer be receiving daily reports of lab-confirmed molecular COVID-19 positive cases and recoveries for Hopkins County from Texas Department of State Health Services. In fact, the state ceased sending recovery updates to the county over a week ago, local officials reported.
The state agency won’t be providing the limited address information to emergency officials for the county’s dispatch system. Instead, all potential cases should be considered positive by officials, according to Sulphur Springs Emergency Management Coordinator Jason Ricketson. The Local Health Authority Nurse will continue to receive limited information with addresses so she can continue contact tracing, according to Hopkins County Emergency Management Coordinator Andy Endsley.
DSHS will provide a cumulative weekly report of molecular and antigen probable cases on Monday.
Daily information was still being posted on the DSHS COVID-19 Case Count dashboard as of Nov. 24, however.
“Weekly COVID-19 County Profile Report” on Tuesday that will include more demographic information about COVID-19 cases.
Ricketson noted the information that has been given to local emergency management officials regarding COVID-19 cases has been limited. Some information was never provided by DSHS to HC/SSEM officials, including age breakdowns of patients. The age percentages HC/SSEM has been able to provide every 2 weeks have been based on information the LHA has been able to compile.
Starting this week on Tuesdays, the state plans to release more useful and comprehensive information than the HC/SSEM has receive in the past regarding Hopkins County COVID-19 cases, including breakdown of cases by age ranges, male/female, and trends over the last 1-2 weeks. The idea to to provide more information to the public so they can make decisions in the future, according to Ricketson.
HC/SSEM Nov. 24 COVID-19 Update
As of Nov. 24, 800 Hopkins County residents have received positive lab-confirmed molecular COVID-19 test results, which is 21 more cases than were last reported by HC/SSEM on Nov. 20 and 2 more than DSHS reported on Nov. 23. That’s 105 new cCOVID-19 cases among Hopkins county resident confirmed by molecular testing so far this month, based on HC/SSEM reports.
Of the 800 molecular positive, 691 Hopkins County residents have recovered, 51 have died of COVID-19 and 58 still have COVID-19, according to the HC/SSEM Nov. 24 COVID-19 update. That’s also 69 additional recoveries reported by DSHS on on Monday and Tuesday, than HC/SSEM reported on Friday. Based on updates provided by HC/SSEM officials, that makes 151 Hopkins County residents who have recovered from COVID-19 this month.
Unfortunately, there have been four Hopkins County residents who have died from COVID-19 this month, one each on Nov. 1, Nov. 5, Nov. 9 and Nov. 13.
The Nov. 24 COVID-19 update provided by HC/SSEM also included case counts for positive antigen cases as well.
Since June 23, Hopkins County has had 776 positive COVID-19 antigen results, which the state considered “probable” COVID-19 cases, according to the Nov. 24 COVID-19 update. That’s 108 additional antigen positives over the last week.
Since the state began reporting antigen numbers on Mondays on Nov. 9, there have been 220 new positive antigen results or “probable” cases reported for Hopkins County. Prior to that, antigen case count estimates were collected by the LHA nurse from local health care providers and reported by HC/SSEM on Fridays. On Nov. 6, HC/SSEM reported Hopkins County residents received 97 positive COVID-19 antigen results from Oct. 30-Nov. 6.
Of the 776 cumulative antigen probable cases, 645 cases are considered recoveries. That’s 129 antigen probable case recoveries in the last week, and 215 since the first Monday antigen report by the state. That leaves 131 antigen probable cases among Hopkins County residents that are still considered to be “active” probable cases. That’s 21 fewer active probable cases than on Nov. 16 and 5 more than was reported on Nov. 9.
According to the DSHS Weekly COVID-19 County Profile, 14 percent of new cases during the current two-week period are school aged individuals. Seventeen percent of all cases occurred within the last 2 weeks, with 261 new cases
Of the 261 cumulative new cases reported during the profile period, the COVID-19 Cases by Age chart shows that 52 percent of cases were in females and 48 males. A breakdown by case range showed 43 cases in residents 60-69 years of age, 40 age 50-59 years, 37 ages 30-39, 33 ages 20-29, 35 ages 40-49, 28 ages 70-79, 16 ages 12-17, 12 ages 4-11 years, 7 ages 80 and older and 2 ages 0-3 years.
HC/SSEM in the Nov. 24 COVID-19 update reported a total of 4,098 molecular COVID-19 tests had been performed at the testing center from Sept. 25 through 6 p.m. Nov. 23. That’s 112 additional oral swab tests conducted at the location on Monday, 541 tests over the last week and 1,705 tests this month.
Mobile COVID-19 testing will continue at from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday through Nov. 28, in the Old Red Cross/Fidelity Express building (behind the Tax Office), located at 128-A Jefferson St. in Sulphur Springs. Register online for the test at www.GoGetTested.com.
Hospital Reports
HC/SSEM in the Nov. 24 COVID-19 update also reported that there are 24 patients in the COVID-19 unit at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs that’s two more than on Monday, Nov. 23, and 7 more than on Friday. These are patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.
CMFH-SS expanded the hospital’s capacity over the last few weeks. Last week, the hospital had the capacity to accommodate 24-25 COVID patients. This week, the hospital has opened up an additional 10 beds should the need arise for them, giving the hospital the capacity to dedicate up to 35 beds for COVID patients at the local hospital, the SSEM official reported.
While the COVID-19 percentage among all hospitalizations in Trauma Service Area F has remained between 12 and 14 percent for the last week, COVID hospitalizations rose to 14.71 percent on Nov. 24, up from 13.57 Nov. 22and 13.54 percent on Nov. 23. That’s approaching the 15 percent to be considered high hospitalization rates. However, Governor’s Executive Order 32, stipulates no additional measures are required if the COVID-19 hospitalizations do not exceed 15 percent of all hospitalizations in the TSA for 7 straight days.
Trauma Service Area F hospital had a total of 155 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, 16 available ICU beds, 80 available ventilators, 590 total hospitalizations, 1,054 total staffed hospital beds and 963 inpatients. That 13 more COVID-19 patients, 5 more available ICU beds, 5 more available ventilators, 13 more staffed inpatient beds, 25 more beds available and 13 more total staffed hospital beds in Area F on Tuesday than on Monday, Nov. 23.
HHS COVID-19 Reports
The Texas Health and Human Services in the Nov. 24 nursing facility report showed 14 recoveries among staff and residents of Sulphur Springs nursing homes for Nov. 10. Four fewer active employee COVID-19 cases were reported by Sulphur Springs Health and Rehab. Ten residents of SSHR also were reported to have recovered from the virus on Nov. 10, the most recent information available from HHS for nursing facilities.
That left 1 active employee case and 2 active resident cases of COVID-19 at Carriage House Manor, 1 active resident case at Rock Creek Health and Rehabilitation, and 10 active employee and 3 active resident novel coronavirus 2019 cases at SSHR on Nov. 10
Wesley House reported one employee still actively had COVID-19 on Nov. 10, according to the HHS Nov. 24 assisted living facility report.
There were no active COVID-19 cases among either students or employees of the six licensed child care centers, school-age programs, and before- or after-school programs on Nov. 23, according to the HHS report for the child care facilities.
Nov. 16-22 Winnsboro Police Department Media Report
The Winnsboro Police Department media report for the week of Nov. 16-22, 2020, included the following activity:
Arrests
- Jordan Crist, 27 years of age, of Winnsboro, was arrested on Nov. 16, 2020, for DWLI with previous convictions.
- Anna Van Den Ijssel, 51 years of age, of Como, was arrested on Nov. 21, 2020, for Public Intoxication.
- Theresa Wells, 55 years of age, of Winnsboro, was arrested on Nov. 22, 2020 for Assault Causing Bodily Injury.
Calls for Service
- The Winnsboro Police Department responded to a total of 110 calls for service during this reporting period.
Citations
- The Winnsboro Police Department issued 29 citations and 27 warnings during this reporting period.
Commissioners Court Tabled Road Closure Order, Approved Agreements, Contracts
Hopkins County Commissioners Court on Monday tabled a road closure order but approved several agreements and contracts as presented.
Road Closure
The court was originally scheduled to consider approving road closure order for a portion of County Road 3602 during their regular meeting Monday. However, Precinct 3 Commissioner Wade Bartley asked the court to table the motion as not all steps in the process required to close a road had been completed.
In order for a road to be closed or abandoned, the person making the application must follow 8 steps in order to submit the request to the Commissioners Court.
Those steps include getting a petition signed by a certain number of property owners in the same precinct and identifying using Appraisal District records “abutting landowners.” Letters must be also be obtained from any emergency district, school district, utility district and the county fire department that would indicate no objections to the road closure. Once all other terms are met the proposal may then be submitted to Hopkins County Commissioners Court for consideration. A notarized affidavit of certificate of posting must be displayed at the courthouse and two other places in the vicinity of the affected route.
Bartley said in reviewing the paperwork Friday, he discovered that the notice had not been posted for 20 days on site. He said he’d have the document notarized and posted for 20 days before its brought back to the court for consideration to approve the order closing a portion of CR 3602.
The Commissioners Court agreed to table the road closure order for CR 3602 until a future date.
Hospital District Agreement
An interlocal agreement to be retroactive dating back to March between the county and hospital district received unanimous approval of the Commissioners Court.
Endsley explained that the agreement is the same kind of agreement the approved allowing the Local Health Authority to hire RN Brynn Smith to assist the doctor. The hospital district agreed to pay Smith since she was already an employee there; this will allow those funds to be reimbursed through CARES Act funding to the hospital district for her duties as LHA nurse.
“For simplicity, the hospital district agreed back in March to pay her since she’s already an employee over there. The CARES Act reimbursement is where this is going to be coming from. This is a very good local agreement. Judge Newsom and I have been working on this for a while, along with Aaron Welch helped us with this and the verbiage change,” Endsley said.
The HCFD Marshal said this type of agreement is something the county might want to consider securing with all seven school districts in Hopkins County. The agreement “would cover us to use” any equipment or facilities of the partnering agencies or entity, including use of vehicles, according to Endsley.
Capital Cases Program
Approved was an interlocal agreement between Hopkins and Lubbock County for participation in a Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases program. The agreement basically serves as insurance, to help cover the costs associated with prosecution of capital murder cases, should the county have any.
Hopkins County Sheriff Lewis Tatum recommended participation in the program. He reported three people accused of capital murder are currently held in the county jail.
Recognition
Hopkins County AgriLife Extension Agents Monday also noted that Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom has been selected as Extension Supporter of the Year. The agents received a plaque to recognize Newsom. Dr. Mario Villarino expressed appreciation to Newsom for
Also Approved
The Commissioners Court approved a memorandum of understanding between the county and Ark-Tex Council of Governments for fiscal year 2021 COVID managed project and a contract for purchase of juvenile services by and between ATCOG and the county. Both, Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom reported, are standard contracts the county approves annually to continue involvement in or services provided through ATCOG.
An agreement between Fastenal Company and Hopkins County Fire Department. Essentially, HCFD Fire Marshal Andy Endsley explained, the system will use the key fob used for entry into the building to help track what cleaning supplies and inventory are being distributed or given out by whom. This is the same system already in use at Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, Endsley noted.
The Commissioners Court also approved Tawlene Lampp, nominated by Sulphur Springs ISD Board of Trustees earlier this month to represent the school district on Hopkins County Civic Center Board.
Como Volunteer Fire Department returned a signed agreement with the county to continue being dispatched to calls and receiving benefits from the county. Como VFD is the fifth VFD to get an agreement in and approved by the Commissioners Court. That leaves six VFDs who have yet to return agreements. The agreements are due by Dec. 1.
A couch at the District Attorney’s Office is being put up for bid. The couch was paid for using a Crime Victims grant funding, for use in serving those individuals. The couch is no longer needed. The DA’s Office has obtained permission from the funding group to sell it. Although an employee is interested in purchasing it, legally, it must be listed for sale. The county approve disposal of the asset through sale.
3 County Chase Ends With Wreck And Felony Arrest
A 3 county chase concluded Monday night with a wreck and felony arrest, according to sheriff’s deputies.
The vehicle pursuit reportedly began at 9:06 p.m. November 23, 2020 on State Highway 19 south in Hopkins County when Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Drew Fisher attempted to stop a 2020 Ford Mustang for a traffic violation.
Instead of stopping for officers, the driver continued north into Delta County. Deputies pursued the car through Delta County and into Lamar County into the city limits of Paris. The deputy had to stop to refuel, but but Lamar County Sheriff’s deputies continued to the pursuit.
Lamar County deputies successfully deployed “stop sticks” on the car, which continued traveling on Highway 271 north until it wrecked out into the ditch with two flat tires around 9:49 p.m. Nov. 23.
Fisher had finished fueling and arrived at the crash site to find a woman detained in handcuffs by a Lamar County patrol unit. Lamar County officers transported her to Lamar County jail, where she was arraigned, then transported to Hopkins County jail.
The woman, identified in arrest reports as Jessica Ashley Mannino, was found to have initially given deputies an incorrect date of birth. She allegedly gave officers a date in 1986 when asked for her birthday, but later was found to have actually been born on a different day and month in 1992. Mannino, who is also known by Jessica Ashley Rodriguez and Jessica Rodriguez-Mannino, reportedly refused to provide an address or city of residence when asked.
The 28-year-old woman was booked into Hopkins County jail at 2 a.m. Nov. 24 on a felony evading arrest or detention with a vehicle charge and a failure to identify charge.
Mannino remained in Hopkins County jail late Tuesday morning, Nov. 24. Bond was set at $20,000 on the evading arrest charge and $1,000 on the failure to identify charge.
If you have an emergency, dial 9-1-1
The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office is located at 298 Rosemont Sulphur Springs, TX 75482. You can reach them for non-emergency matters at (903) 438-4040.
Veterans Memorial Receives Donation From Alliance Bank
Tom Sellers, Alliance Bank President/CEO, presents a $1,000 donation, in lieu of a public customer appreciation event, to (left) Danny Davis of the Hopkins County Veterans Memorial.
Star Gazing and Dark Skies at Cooper Lake State Park!
Experience Dark Skies and the Cosmos at Cooper Lake State Park!
Cooper, TX— When was the last time you stopped to gaze into the heavens at night? For most Americans, the once common activity is now no more than a distant cultural memory, or maybe an unsatisfying upward glance towards a fussy glow with maybe a dozen stars and planets visible: Not an awe-inspiring experience. Rewind a hundred years and in most locations on the continent you could see untold thousands of stars with the dense band of the Milky Way visible. In the past, humans, had an unimpeded view and connection to the night skies; our constant companion since the beginning of our species. We are intertwined with the stars in so many ways most of us don’t truly understand. Our distant lineages have told and passed down constellation stories, creating cultural connections for thousands of years. Today, less than 20% of Americans have access to seeing the Milky Way on a moonless night. Once something as common to our collective heritage is taken away (slowly and subtly) we are all poorer in spirit and have less of a connection to our natural world. But wait, all is not lost! We still have locations scattered throughout the U.S. that have a window into the cosmos and to our shared past that we can experience. And you guessed it! Cooper Lake State Park is one of those special places.
Cooper Lake State Park is still a great place to view the heavens. Situated less than 100 miles from Dallas – Fort Worth and several smaller cities which makes our impressive, special dark skies easily accessible! All night skies can be rated based on impact from artificial interfering light. This system is based on the Bortle scale which classifies night skies from grade of 1 which is the darkest of the dark. These are prehistory dark skies – what our kind would have seen 10,000 years ago around a campfire. Texas State Parks has one of those incredibly rare locations – Big Bend Ranch State Park. Cooper Lake State Park is a 3 on the scale. Cities throughout the US are usually an 8-9 grade with about a dozen visible stars.
The biggest threat to the night sky is thoughtless use of outdoor lighting. Not all outdoor lighting is created equal. Outdoor lighting is critical for safety. The key to providing lighting for human safety without impacting the quality of our night skies is relatively simple, and Cooper Lake State Park has implemented these measures and can be a blueprint for others to follow. By no means did the park develop these measures alone, but through information provided by the International Dark Sky Association. Here are several key points to incorporate for new outdoor lighting or for the conversion of existing lights:
- Use only shielded full cutoff fixtures. These reduce glare which is a vision-killer and also focuses light to where it is actually needed.
- Use only the amount of light that is minimally required for your needs. Reduce wattages and numbers of fixtures. (Saving money on electricity as a biproduct)
- Use only warm lighting which is defined as 3000o Kelvin or less. These lights are more yellow in color.
- Utilize motion sensors where applicable. Provide light only when needed.
At Cooper Lake State Park, we have replaced our parking lot lights with warm 3000o Kelvin LED bulbs. In addition, we modified these fixtures to focus light and eliminate glare. Also, we reduced the number of lighted fixtures by 70% providing minimal but adequate illumination for safety. We replaced all sidewalk shielded fixtures with 1700o Kelvin yellow bulbs. We replaced all exterior building lights with warm 1700o to 2500o Kelvin yellowish bulbs.
December is going to be the best month of the year for star gazing! As the nighttime temperature drops, so does the humidity in the air. Drier air makes for clearer star gazing. The centerpiece event for the month and for 2020 is the Geminids Meteor Shower that runs from December 11th– peaking overnight on December 13th and 14th. Colorful long meteor tails are predicted. To make the viewing the best it can be is that the celestial event occurs during the new moon phase which means no moon to wash away the darkness. All star gazers and meteor hunters are welcome to stay overnight in our day – use areas to view this phenomenon. An additional activity fee is required per person for those staying after 10 pm nightly. This is important because the very best viewing usually occurs after midnight.
Cooper Lake State Park entrance fees are $5 for adults; kids 12 and under always free (additional $2 activity fee for day-users staying after 10pm to fish or star gaze). Senior Texans 65 or older will only pay $3 to enter the park daily with a Bluebonnet Pass. Unlimited park entrances for you and everyone in your vehicle can be accomplished with the purchase of a Texas State Park Annual Pass for $70, which is good for over 12 months (Annual Pass does not cover overnight activity fees). Buy your pass and let your Texas adventure begin!
For more information on the park, please visit and like our Facebook pages (Cooper Lake State Park – South Sulphur (903)-945-5256 and Cooper Lake State Park – Doctors Creek (903) 395-3100).
Nov. 23 COVID-19 Update: 22 In Hospital COVID Unit, Changes In Case Reporting
Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials in the Nov. 23 COVID-19 update reported a whopping 22 patients in the COVID unit at the hospital and a change in state COVID-19 case reporting.
Texas Department of State Health Services, as of Sunday, Nov. 22, will no long be providing daily updates to county officials, HC/SSEM reported in the Nov. 23 COVID-19 update. No new positive cases nor new recoveries were noted by HC/SSEM. Thus, the case counts reported Nov. 23 by HC/SSEM were the same as reported on Friday: 779 cumulative cases, 622 recoveries and 157 active case.
On the daily COVID-19 dashboard posted by DSHS at 3:35 p.m. Nov. 23, very few counties showed any changes in new case counts. The Texas COVID-19 New Confirmed Cases By County report showed no new cases for Hopkins County on Monday, but eight new cases over the weekend — three on Saturday and five on Sunday. That, according to DSHS, increases the cumulative COVID-19 case count for Hopkins County since March to be 798. The total equals an average of 21.54 cases per 1,000 people in Hopkins County, according to the DSHS Nov. 23 County Trends report.
The DSHS Fatalities over Time by County report shows no update since Nov. 22. At that time, the fatality count continued to be the 51 COVID-19 deaths reported for Hopkins County on Nov. 21.
The DSHS COVID-19 “Estimated Recoveries by County dashboard on Nov. 23 showed 691 COVID-19 recoveries for Hopkins County, 69 more than were last reported by HC/SSEM on Friday.
The active case count reported by DSHS on Nov. 23 for Hopkins County was 56 for Nov. 22-23.
Another 120 COVID-19 tests were performed Saturday, Nov. 21, at the testing site at 128-A Jefferson St. in Sulphur Springs. That makes 534 free molecular COVID-19 tests conducted at the location in the last week and 1,593 this month. Overall, that makes 3.986 tests conducted since the site opened on Sept. 25, HC/SSEM reported in the Nov. 23 COVID-19 update.
Molecular testing will continue to be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays in November. Register online at www.GoGetTested.com for the oral swab test.
Hospital Reports
Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials in their Nov. 23 COVID-19 update did report a patient count of 22 in the COVID Unit at CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs on Nov. 23.
The patient count in the COVID unit at CMFH-SS has remained 10 or above since Oct. 26, and has so far this month has not been less than 13 patients. Monday’s patient count sets a new record since the HC/SSEM has been reporting hospital COIVD unit statistics in August. The numbers have continued to rise over from 15 on Nov. 17 to 17 on Nov. 18 and 19, 19 patients on Nov. 20 and 22 patients Monday.
In Trauma Service Area F, which includes hospital from Texarkana to Hopkins County, there were 1,042 staffed hospital beds and 950 total staffed inpatient beds on Monday, which is less than the last 4 week days.
DSHS also reported there were 602 total hospitalizations, including 142 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Area F on Nov. 23. COVID-19 hospitalizations account for 13.64 percent of all hospitalizations out of the total hospital capacity in TSA Area F, which remains below the 15 percent threshold which the state considers high hospitalizations if a TSA exceeds for 7 consecutive days, per Executive Order GA-32.
That leaves available throughout Area F as of the DSHS report at 3:40 p.m. Monday 348 hospital beds, 11 ICU beds and 75 ventilators, according to the DSHS data.
Across the state, there were 8,353 lab-confirmed COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals as of the Nov. 23 report.
| Trauma Service Area F Categories | Nov. 17, 2020 Counts | Nov. 18, 2020 Counts | Nov. 19, 2020 Counts | Nov. 20, 2020 Counts | Nov. 23, 2020 Counts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population Estimate 2020 | 273,329 | 273,329 | 273,329 | 273,329 | 273,329 |
| Total Staffed Hospital Beds | 1,057 | 1,075 | 1,110 | 1,111 | 1,041 |
| Available Hospital Beds | 364 | 364 | 375 | 387 | 348 |
| Available ICU Beds | 11 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 11 |
| Available Ventilators | 75 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 75 |
| Lab-Confirmed COVID-19 Patients in Hospital | 139 | 138 | 149 | 148 | 142 |
| Total Staffed Inpatient Beds | 966 | 984 | 1,019 | 1,020 | 950 |
HHS COVID-19 Reports
Very little change was reported at Sulphur Springs nursing facilities from Nov. 6 to Nov. 9, the most recent COVID-19 data available from Texas Health and Human Services for nursing facilities. The only active employee COVID-19 case reported Nov. 6 at Sunny Springs Nursing & Rehab had recovered from the virus on Nov. 9, according to the Nov. 23 HHS nursing facility report.
Carriage House continued to have 1 active employee case and two active resident COVID-19 cases on Nov. 9. Rock Creek Health and Rehabilitation reported 1 resident still had COVID-19 on Nov. 9. Sulphur Springs Health and Rehabilitation reported 14 employees and 13 resident still had the virus on Nov. 9, according to the Nov. 23 HHS nursing facility report.
Wesley House reported that one employee had tested positive for COVID-19 and actively had the virus on Nov. 9, HHS reported in the Nov. 23 assisted living facility report.
There were no active cases of COVID-19 in students or staff reported by the six licensed child care centers, school-age programs, and before- or after-school programs in Sulphur Springs on Nov. 20, according to the Nov. 23 HHS report.
