Should Eastland County, Texas - with ONE active Covid case, as of May 12 - continue under Gov. Greg Abbott's most restrictive orders?
On May 7 in Commissioners Court County Judge Rex Fields said he is not comfortable certifying that Eastland County can safely move from 25% to 50% occupancy, though adjacent counties have. Why?
The reason cited: Eastland Memorial has only four ventilators.
Statistics, please. We see that 1 of 1000 urban residents tests positive at any one time. Even adopting that rate for our rural county, that's 18 people. 90% would likely recover at home in a few days. If the other 2 were hospitalized, chances are less than 50-50 that even 1 would need intensive care, much less a ventilator. And ventilator usage is increasingly avoided as doctors learn more about this virus.
Conclusion: Medical capacity is not a valid reason to continue this lockdown.
Judge Fields, let ALL the essential citizens of Eastland County go back to work! If you're also concerned about this artificial shutdown, we suggest a polite call or note to Judge Fields (https://www.eastlandcountytexas.com/page/eastland.County.Judge), Gov. Greg Abbott and your representatives (https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home).