Covid numbers climbing
The Tuesday evening Covid-19 case count showed Wilbarger County with 243 cases, 48 in Hardeman County and 19 in Foard County. There were just 7 reported as active in Wilbarger, while 16 were active in Hardeman and none in Foard.
The NTSH-Vernon campus reported 4 patients and 8 staff were positive as of Monday. Last week, The state reported there just three active patient cases, and one active staff case. The numbers peaked two weeks ago at the hospital with 52 active cases — 12 were staff and 40 were patients.
For precautionary purposes related to COVID exposures, Vernon ISD will only run Buses # 2 & # 27. No other bus routes will run the remainder of the week through Friday, Oct. 16. There will be no ESL tutorials after school Thursday of this week. There will be In-Service on Monday Oct. 19,2020, and no classes. Transportation will resume operations (running all bus routes) on Tuesday Oct. 20,2020.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and a cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Over the weekend, Yesway closed in Vernon due to Covid. Tom Trkla, CEO of Yesway and Allsup’s, told the Vernon Record: “Nothing matters more to me than the health, safety, and well-being of our team members and our customers, especially during this extremely challenging time. While we all know that the possibility exists that one of our Store Managers or Associates may become infected with COVID-19 or come in contact with others in the community who have tested positive for the virus, we want to assure you that we have rigid policies and procedures in place to protect them and you, our customers, both here in the Vernon area and in the hundreds of communities that we serve.
“ We encourage any team member exhibiting cold or flu-like symptoms to remain at home. Additionally, any team member who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been placed in a mandatory quarantine by his or her medical provider, will be paid for up to two weeks while they are away from work.
“When this happens, as it recently did at our 4016 Wilbarger Street Yesway location (#1197), our standard operating procedure is to have any employee who has worked with the affected team member enter self-quarantine as well. We then intensify our deep-cleaning and sanitization efforts at the store. This is over and above the dramatically increased frequency with which our Store Managers and Associates are washing their hands, and deep-cleaning all counters, equipment, restrooms, door handles, and fuel pumps, as well as other high-touch areas throughout all of our stores. The store will be closed this weekend and will reopen only once we are satisfied that the deep-cleaning and sanitization is complete and the store is safe for our customers and employees to return.
“This is a responsibility that all of us at Yesway and Allsup’s take very seriously. We thank all of our team members serving on the frontlines for their continued hard work and dedication, and for all that they are doing to ensure that all Yesway and Allsup’s stores remain open, well-stocked, clean, and safe for our customers every day.”
