CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — COVID-19 cases continue to steadily rise in the Coastal Bend, and despite a few recent days with lower numbers, health officials reminded residents on Tuesday that they are not yet in the clear. Instead, it is a crucial time for contact tracing, and for those behind that effort.
"Make no mistake. COVID is here. We're in an outbreak in the Coastal Bend area, and people should act accordingly," said Chris Bird, a member of the Coastal Bend COVID-19 Task Force.
The community had a daily average of 131 cases as of Dec. 1 -- a rising trend that others across the state also experienced. Despite the increases, no new interventions were being taken by the state, making local contact tracing critical.
"If there's 100 cases today, 100 calls are going to go out," said Annette Rodriguez, the director of the Nueces County-Corpus Christi Public Health District. "So, what we do, we call all of the positives today."
Rodriguez said the service helps to slow the spread of the virus as quickly as possible.
"They start calling, since you were positive, we need to make sure people you came in contact with know they could've been exposed and they need to be in quarantine," Rodriguez said.
Yet, as cases continue to rise, contact tracers risk becoming overwhelmed.
"More than about 1 or 1.5 in every 1,000 people in the Coastal Bend has died from COVID-19," Bird said.
They were still able to contact people who tested positive within a day or two, but Rodriguez said if cases worsened, it could take three days. The health district hadn't been able to specify a particular hot spot location -- places where people may have contracted the virus.
"There's so much transmission throughout the community, it's everywhere," Rodriguez said, emphasizing the importance of contact tracing in slowing the spread of the virus within the community.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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