Lamar County is currently seeing the “largest surge” in coronavirus cases in recent days, according to officials.
According to reports, there have been 123 positive coronavirus cases since Monday, Oct. 12, and two deaths. To date, there has been a total of 1,553 cases, 43 positive antibody tests, and 38 deaths. Currently, there are 227 active COVID-19 cases.
The City of Paris, together with Paris Regional Medical Center and the Paris-Lamar County Health District, released a statement on Tuesday evening encouraging residents to continue to stay home if able, keep a distance from people when in public, keep your hands clean and away from your face and wear a mask.
“Sometimes wearing a mask is the main variable you can control. It isn’t perfect, but it has been proven to help with community control when everyone wears one,” said Dr. Amanda Green, MD CMO with PRMC.
She further said, “Paris Regional Medical Center employees and patients reflect our community and are in a surge of infections from the community as well. If we do not control the rate of infection, we will not have nurses, food service, and environment of care workers to care for patients at the hospital, especially with around 15% being hospitalized patients with COVID-19 that require extra work from all departments.”
Green went on to explain that her immunity through “everyone getting it and getting this over with” is “not a good strategy.”
“COVID-19 is not the common cold,” she said. “COVID-19 is more like chickenpox – causing delayed symptoms in many (like chickenpox cause the shingles). The problem is that COVID-19 is unpredictable in terms of what system it infects and inflames. People can also get reinfections.”
Green said with these simple measures, residents can help protect not only themselves but others from infection also.
“Help make a difference in the remembrance of the 38 deaths in Lamar County to date.”
For more reports on current numbers in Lamar County, click here