Third Coronavirus Case in Bell County Identified in Temple
UPDATE: Bell County Judge David Blackburn is expected to deliver a live update on the situation at 2 PM today (Wednesday, March 18). We plan to stream his address live on the US 105 Facebook page. If you can't tune in live, we'll make the video available there and embed it in this article.
Health officials in Bell County say they have identified a case of COVID-19 in Temple.
A news release issued Tuesday evening by the Bell County Public Health District reads:
Bell County Public Health District has identified a third positive case of COVID-19. The case is awaiting confirmation from the CDC. The individual is a 70 to 80-year-old Temple man with a recent travel history to South Africa. Bell County Public Health has initiated self-isolation protocol and contact tracing for this case.
Bell County remains in Stage 2 of the Bell County COVID-19 Action Plan (see below), as this case is travel related and not a result of community spread.
Bell County COVID-19 Action Plan
Stage 1 (no confirmed cases of COVID-19)
• Stay home if you are sick
• Avoid contact with persons who are sick
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unclean hands
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throw the tissue away
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces with a disinfectant
• Don’t travel to areas with active community spread of COVID-19
• Wash your hands with soap and water regularly and use hand sanitizers with at least 60% of alcohol content when soap and water are not available
Stage 2 (a confirmed case of COVID-19)
• All of Stage 1 measures
• Actively practice ‘social distancing’ … whenever possible maintain 6 feet distance from other persons
• Avoid physical contact with other persons in social and workplace settings
• Recommend all gatherings of 50 or more persons be cancelled or postponed
Stage 3 (community spread of COVID-19)
• All Stage 1 & Stage 2 measures
• Bell County &/or BCPHD may issue orders restricting and/or prohibiting mass gatherings and/or movement of people