COVID UPDATE: Active cases go way down in county, only seven new cases
COVID Update from Milam County Judge Steve Young:
Milam County:
- Confirmed cases – 293 – up 7
- Active cases – 43 – down 22
- Probable cases – 6 – no change
- Monitored 77 – up 9
- Cumulative monitored 571
- Hospitalized – 2 – 1 in serious condition
- Cumulative hospitalized 25
- Deaths – 2
Texas Cases as of 7:49 p.m. July 27.:
- Confirmed cases 385,923 – up 4,267 which is the smallest increase since July 5
- Deaths – 5,713 -up 44
Monday the Texas Department of State Health Services announced it was changing the method in which it reports COVID deaths. Under the new edict a fatality is counted as due to COVID-19 when the medical certifier, usually a doctor with direct knowledge of the patient, determines COVID-19 directly caused the death. This method does not include deaths of people who had COVID-19 but died of an unrelated cause. Death certificates are required by law to be filed within 10 days. Previously, DSHS counted COVID-19 fatalities as they were reported publicly by local and regional health departments after they received a notification and verified the death. The length of time that process takes varies by jurisdiction and does not provide timely demographic information on most fatalities. This new method of reporting increased the number of deaths in the state by almost 800 today and it may increase the death count in Milam County. However, there were only 44 actual deaths in the state Monday.