BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — The state of Texas is about two weeks into phase one of reopening, and the state is seeing an uptick of confirmed coronavirus cases. Brazos County alone has exceeded 300 cases.
The positive coronavirus numbers reported out of Brazos County stand out especially when you compare them to counties like McLennan and Bell counties. Dr. Seth Sullivan with the Brazos County Health District is looking for trends that could help explain why some counties have more cases than others.
“It's a concern of mine as well as to everyone here,” he said.
Dr. Sullivan believes the availability to more testing is just one reason for the uptick.
“We’re being more aggressive with testing, but that's not the only reason we’re seeing more cases. We’re seeing more cases because there is undoubtedly there is community spread,” he said.
As cases increase, health and local officials are focused on keeping hospital utilization down.
“The main thing is for us to look at those ICU numbers," says City of Bryan Mayor, Andrew Nelson. "I think the community can feel comfortable that we still have a very low utilization of those ICU beds”
For some residents, the growing number of cases has them questioning if enough is being done to prevent community spread.
"That 300 number is really scary, and if we seeing an uptick clearly we’re not doing something right and we need to slow down and really think about what’s going to keep me as a person of the public safe,” says Gio Pinto.
For now, elected officials continue urging the community to take precautions when out in public.
“When you go out in public wear a mask or preferably do not go out in public,” suggest College Station Mayor Karl Mooney.
Dr. Sullivan reiterated that as we test more, we will see more confirmed cases. He also stressed we have to continue taking safety measures to protect ourselves and the more vulnerable.