SAN ANGELO, Texas — As of Friday afternoon, there were no new cases of COVID-19 reported for Tom Green County, according to a release from the City of San Angelo Public Information Office.
Because of numerous comments and questions regarding Thursday's new positive case reported from out of the state, the City has made some modifications to its graphics. Page one now represents "Tests taken in Tom Green County." Any additional positive case that comes to the city/county for someone who has a "county of residence" in Tom Green County, but is tested/treated elsewhere will be added to the second graphic, the release stated.
At some point in the near future, the City said it will reach a “released from isolation” number that is larger than the positive case count. The reason for that will be that health authorities placed some people in isolation because they were a close contact/family member to a positive case; they tested negative, but still had to be placed in isolation.
What does "released" mean in regards to positive cases being released?
The removal of positive cases from quarantine/isolation is based on guidance from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); therefore, the health department will report the number of positive cases that have been removed from isolation in adherence to these guidelines. Because removal from isolation is on a case-by-case basis, a cumulative count will be reported on a weekly basis every Friday.
DSHS and the local health department are focused on identification of infectious disease (in this case COVID-19) and the notification of contacts of said case(s), as well as providing and adhering to guidance issued by DSHS or CDC. The health department would also report any deaths associated with the disease. Medical management, follow-up and recovery information of patients are between the individual and their medical provider or physician.
RELATED: New confirmed case of COVID-19 reported for Tom Green Co. is a resident who is out of the state
