EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this report was published, Hemphill County Hospital has reported four additional in-county positive COVID tests, and nine more out-of-county positives. The hospital is providing daily updates when positive test results for Hemphill County residents are reported. Those results are also posted as they occur on the Hemphill County Hospital District and The Canadian Record Facebook pages. --LEB

This week’s COVID testing update from the Hemphill County Hospital District reflects not only a dramatic rethinking of what information the public wants and needs, but also an acknowledgement that there is a distinct dividing line between pre-delta numbers, and today’s numbers. The Emergency Operations Center is now providing 14-day testing results, the hospital reported yesterday, and has determined that there is little interest in the total number of tests performed by their lab, or in the number of pending or negative tests.

HCHD Marketing Director Lori Jack emphasized that these numbers are not all-inclusive. “We continue to hear of Hemphill County residents testing positive elsewhere,” she said, “however, no one is providing those number to the hospital district.”

In light of that, she explained, the HCHD is no longer reporting “presumed” recovery numbers, but will report active cases based solely on this lab’s test results, as they have always done.

“This is not a true representation of our county’s COVID actives,” she said.

As of Aug. 17, 12,402 people are hospitalized for COVID-19 in Texas, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. As a record number of Texas hospitals—at least 75 at the end of last week—run out of intensive care beds, state health officials are warning that they may soon have more COVID-19 patients than they can handle. The number of cases and hospitalizations are rapidly approaching records set during the winter surge, as the highly-contagious delta variant spreads through the unvaccinated, at a rate up to eight times faster than earlier strains.

Between 93 and 98 percent of hospitalized COVID patients are unvaccinated. Just under half of Texans are fully vaccinated, which leaves some 16 million people who are not protected from the virus.

The grimmest news of this week was a request from state officials to the federal government for five mortuary trailers, as they anticipate a potential death spike.

There are reports around the state of paramedics so understaffed and overworked that ambulances sit idle because there is no one to run them. In San Antonio—a city of 1.5 million residents—there were no ambulances available to respond to 911 calls for a 26-minute period.

According to DSHS, only 32.2 percent of Hemphill County residents are fully vaccinated. In a wake-up call to residents of this area issued last week, Dr. Tony Cook reported that the hospital district is not able to transfer patients at all.

Cook’s dire warning—“We are in a bad, bad situation,” he told The Record—followed a day in which he had tried to find ICU beds for patients hospitalized here, but whose conditions required a higher level of care. Dr. Cook warned that he had called over 100 hospitals in six different states, to no avail. “There is nothing,” he said.

As the 2021-22 school year begins, local officials and school leaders around the state are pushing back against Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates.

El Paso was the state’s latest major metro area to defy the ban. El Paso’s city-county health authority issued a countywide mandate that all residents over the age of 2 must wear masks in many indoor spaces, like schools and businesses. City officials convinced a local judge issue a stay in an effort to temporarily stop Gov. Abbott from enforcing his executive order banning cities, counties, and school districts from imposing their own rules requiring mask-wearing.

A northeast Texas school district added a mask requirement to its dress code in an attempt to circumvent the governor’s order, according to The Paris News.

And in rural West Texas, according to a report in the Texas Tribune, a school district announced Monday that it would be closed for the next two weeks in an attempt to slow the virus’ spread before it overwhelms the area’s minimal healthcare resources.

Canadian ISD issued guideline updates as school began this week, stipulating that mask-wearing is optional. CISD Technology Director Lawana Pulliam and School Nurse Molly Kerrigan explained the latest protocol to school trustees last Tuesday evening.

“Basically, for us,” Pulliam said, “we are cleaning and maintaining facilities and following sanitation protocols. We have provided access for students to hand washing, and face coverings or masks are optional. Social distancing and seating will be assigned as needed. Right now, we are recommending 3 feet.”

Masks and hand sanitizer are available at every campus. Students, staff, and visitors will “self-screen” for symptoms before entering buildings, and frequent hand-washing and sanitizing will be required throughout the day.

Superintendent Lynn Pulliam explained that the district is prohibited from quarantining close contacts, but is required to contact the parent who may elect to quarantine the student. If that occurs, he said, the district will do its best to help them keep up.

Kerrigan said the district does have free rapid tests available for symptomatic students and staff, and can order more, if needed. But the district cannot require anyone to take a test. “We can only require them to provide a negative test—or a note from their doctor—before they return to school,” said Dr. Pulliam.

Current quarantine times for unvaccinated students or staff are 10 days, and for close contact and vaccinated individuals, 3-5 days and a negative test before returning to school.

“We will let people know there are vaccines available if they want them,” Dr. Pulliam said, “but we cannot require that they take them.”