“We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for Covid-19,” said Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County, per CNN.
“These babies have not even had their first birthday yet. Please help us stop the spread of this disease.” In Nueces County, Texas, where Corpus Christi is located, the number of new coronavirus cases began skyrocketing in July after the curve flattened out. Now, the virus has infected dozens of babies.
“Nueces County has the fastest growth in new cases on the seven-day average than any other metropolitan county in the state,” said Peter Zanoni, the Corpus Christi city manager. The surge in cases came two months after the state’s Phase II reopening and one month after the Phase III reopening.
“You can see the trend line is relatively flat until July, and this is where we have had that huge spike in cases, and this is why it’s turned into a major problem for Nueces County,” he said. This is also why local officials are urging people to wear face masks.
On Friday, according to a news release from the city of Corpus Christi, a six-weeks-old baby boy died from the coronavirus. Corpus Christi has been hard hit by the spread of COVID-19, with more than 5,000 cases reported since the pandemic began. The positivity rate is greater than 22%, according to the city’s dashboard.
“Unfortunately it does not discriminate,” said a county medical examiner about the coronavirus. “It affects people with comorbidities, and with pre-existing condition like diabetes, hypertension and obesity, but now it affects everybody. Nobody is secluded from infection.”
That’s why we’re asking people to wear face masks,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales, per KSAT. “I am now having to order additional body bags and morgue trailers. People have to understand how real it is.”
State representatives Sheila Jackson Lee and Joaquin Castro sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbot, saying that local jurisdictions should be granted the ability to issue stay at home orders to help contain coronavirus cases.
“Texas is now not where it should be relating to fighting Covid-19. Therefore, your office should take immediate action to rewind the efforts to reopen the state quickly; which came about by ignoring CDC guidelines,” the letter said. “We need to provide local authority to local counties and cities to do what is in the best interest of their communities.”
