KSAN interviewed Health Department Director Sandra Villareal. In addition the city added information on the Coronavirus to the Health Services webpage. This information was not available over the weekend.
A number of states experienced community spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Physicians estimate the virus has been in the United States for six weeks as travelers returned from areas that had coronavirus outbreaks.
San Angelo has Goodfellow Airforce Base which serves all branches of the military in its training mission. Angelo State University has a large contingent of international students.
The Health Department did not mention testing or what to do if one has the symptoms listed. It also did not mention what people without health resources should do if they get a respiratory illness.
The U.S. strategy has been light on testing, without which tried and true public health measures like contact tracing and isolation cannot be implemented.
The City of San Angelo finally said something about the pandemic coronavirus. However, it did not rise to the level of a news story or press release.
Update 3-3-20: One month ago a CDC representative said "The goal is to catch the majority of cases and slow the entry of the virus into the country. She added the public health system remains on high alert." As of this morning the CDC website states "CDC is remanufacturing the reagents with more robust quality control measures. New tests will be distributed once this issue has been addressed." An ER physician offered advice for the public and stressed the role of local health departments.
Update 3-4-20: The City published a news story about the coronavirus. The piece stated "there are no cases of COVID-19 in the general population in San Angelo or Texas at this time." It did not say if any testing of patients had been conducted.
Update 3-5-20: The Trump coronavirus team refused to answer a question on uninsured people paying for the diagnostic test. The Hill reported on the potential cost of the test.
The Trump team will miss its promise to make 1 million tests available by the end of this week. Bloomberg reported "The lack of testing kits for hospitals and health departments has created a gaping vulnerability in the U.S. effort to contain the virus."
San Angelo Live ran a story on Health Department preparations for the coronavirus coming to town. Their piece did not address testing or what to do if one has the symptoms listed. It also failed to advise people without health resources what they should do if they get a respiratory illness. Three new cases of coronavirus arose in the Houston area from people who traveled overseas, at least one to Egypt.
Update 3-6-20: Mayor Brenda Gunter put out an official communication on the city's preparedness for a possible coronavirus outbreak. "Any positive case of coronavirus will be confirmed through the City Public Health Department and distributed to the public via the City Public Information office." Health Department Director Sandra Villareal gave a coronavirus update to City Council during public comment on 3-3-20. Council later approved a Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City and Tom Green County. Council asked if it included pandemic. A search of the document showed it lacked the words "pandemic" and "epidemic."
Update 3-11-20: The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. Dr. Anthony Faucci told Congress "If we don’t do very serious mitigation now, what’s going to happen is that we’re going to be weeks behind, and the horse is going to be out of the barn, and that’s the reason why we’ve been saying, even in areas of the country, where there are no or few cases, we’ve got to change our behaviour. We have to essentially assume that we are going to get hit. And that’s why we talk about making mitigation and containment in a much more vigorous way." In some parts of the U.S. we are already weeks behind.
How many contagious individuals traveled to San Angelo during this time? The City's Health Services webpage added two CDC videos, one for elderly patients and another on how the disease is spread.
Update 3-13-20: City Council's agenda for 3-17-20 has only one item on the regular agenda. It is not the coronavirus, but a resolution for Republic Services to access tax exempt bonds through the State of Texas. Of the nearly $500 million San Angelo's landfill would get $6.2 million for improvements. There is no agenda item for the novel coronavirus. One columnist wrote "So, to our elected officials: You have critical responsibilities to the country. It is essential that you trust the experts from CDC, the National Institutes of Health and local health departments. Make sure they have the funding they need to manage this crisis. Tell us the truth … this is a dangerous virus, not a hoax, and there is no magic bullet."
Update 3-14-20: San Angelo Independent School District canceled classes through March 20th after the district became "aware of the self-reporting and self-quarantining of people in the community who traveled to areas of high exposure." Bell County confirms their first case of coronaavirus. The person recently returned from a trip to Europe. Austin has three cases of coronavirus, one a "transfer from a rural hospital in a different region" of the state. Another recently traveled from Houston, which is believed to have community spread. Yesterday Dallas County reported its ninth coronavirus case. Fort Bend County also has nine cases. Tyler has three cases while Gregg County has one. As of yesterday Texas Tribune reported 50 cases in Texas and broke that number down by county.
Update 3-15-20: Texas eliminated access to primary care as part of its public health responsibility in the early 2000's. That was part of a U.S. wide dismantling of public health resources and capabilities. "America has no real public health system – coronavirus has a clear run. Local and state health departments are already bare bones, having lost nearly a quarter of their workforce since 2008, according to the National Association of County and City Health Officials."
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