COVID-19 CASES IN WASHINGTON CO. BROKEN DOWN

  

Washington County officials have clarified the current number of COVID-19 cases as they pertain to the public and to separate institutional facilities.

According to Washington County Judge John Durrenberger, of the 141 confirmed cases in the county as of Tuesday, 106 come from inside institutional facilities, whether they be residents or employees of those facilities.  Only 35 cases come from the general public.  In addition, all 22 of Tuesday’s confirmed cases came from institutional facilities.

Of the county’s 15 COVID-19 related deaths, 13 are from one facility, previously identified as the Brenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and only two are from the general public.

Durrenberger said he believes the 35 cases in the public represents an “excellent record for our county”.  He said “people need to be aware of how well we’ve done as a community in preventing the spread”.

Durrenberger and Washington County Commissioners spoke on COVID-19’s effects on the community and on the facility at their meeting Tuesday.  Commissioner Joy Fuchs said the county and City of Brenham do not have a say on what goes on in facilities like the Brenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, as they are regulated by the state.

 

Fuchs also said healthcare workers can only do with what their management gives them, and applauded the work healthcare employees are doing.

Commissioner Kirk Hanath said the elderly population has been affected the most by the virus, but thanked all of the institutions that have worked to keep their cases to a minimum.  He said it is hard to focus on the positives during this time, but citizens do need to be commended for the work they are doing to slow the spread of the virus.

 

Hanath said once COVID-19 breached the facility, the situation was completely under the control of the facility’s management, and local officials had no way of preventing it.

The outbreak inside the facility has caught the attention of local representatives like State Senator Lois Kolkhorst.  At her request last week, a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Unit and special response teams were sent to the facility to triage, test all patients and staff, assist in facility management, and make recommendations for next steps for the facility and patient care.