Newsom: social distancing in Hopkins effective
A fourth case of COVID-19 has confirmed in Hopkins County at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, per Judge Robert Newsom in a press conference. The person has been told to self-isolate, according to Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jason Ricketson. No additional details are available concerning the case, emergency management stated.
Emergency management stated they had no updates on the progression on the prior three confirmed cases.
"They are still being investigated by DHHS," Ricketson stated. "Maybe at a later time we would have that information."
Newsom stated he believed social distancing was progressing well, in part due to the weather, he said.
"We've got totally different than last Saturday," Newsom said. "Last Saturday it was 80 degrees and people out everywhere. Now the streets are pretty much clear and the parks are pretty much clear. There's a few runners going up and down Connally Street. This kind of weather helps people stay home and be safe."
Newsom additionally mentioned he felt confident in a tweet sent out by Gov. Greg Abbott, who stated that "Our testing capacity is increasing 10% each day."
Ricketson stated the emergency management team had not received reports of lack of testing in Hopkins County. While he acknowledged other locations may lack testing supplies, "Hopkins County is all we can speak for," he stated.
The team stated they planned to update the public about numbers of cases being tested "sometime early next week."
Emergency management has created a COVID-19 dashboard, viewable at http://hopkinscountytxcovid-19.com/?fbclid=IwAR0fY6QS2dfH2O1rlcV5kj0vcyKLJatkkdTJpaUPEFlOD_xSnMVBkSO9qIY