After receiving a long-awaited, much-anticipated invitation, families of nursing home residents have recently had the pleasure of taking tours of the new Mesa View Senior Living facility. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will not be an open house as originally planned.

Hemphill County Hospital District received results of 21 new positive COVID-19 cases in this county during the last seven days. During that same period, 47 new confirmed positive tests were reported by the HCH lab in noncounty residents.

The pace of new infections in rural America accelerated again last week, breaking the old record for new infections for the eighth consecutive week. The number of COVIDrelated deaths in rural counties also set a record for the fourth consecutive week.

Wearing a mask can help protect you, not just those around you, from coronavirus transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in new guidance issued Nov. 10. The statement was the agency’s strongest endorsement yet of face covering, and cited potential economic benefits, as well.