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Update: The City of Lubbock clarified in a news conference Tuesday night that one of the people who tested positive for the coronavirus is a Lubbock County resident, while the other is from Hockley County.

Original story: COVID-19, the novel coronavirus which has effectively shut down large swaths of businesses, schools and social gatherings across the U.S., is in Lubbock County.

The news was confirmed by the City of Lubbock on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020.

Full press release below:


The City of Lubbock has confirmed its first two cases of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Both are traveler transmission cases, but not related to one another. The Department of Public Health is working to identify recent contacts of the patients as well. This step identifies potential exposure risks. The City of Lubbock Health Department and other response agencies are prepared and have employed standard response plans designed to address and resolve public health issues. The Department will continue monitoring individuals as indicated by the CDC. The Department’s disease surveillance team will continue working diligently to ensure the public remains at a low risk of contracting COVID-19.

The City of Lubbock Health Department and our health care partners will continue to monitor COVID-19 in the Lubbock area to prepare for the possibility of more local cases. Please continue to follow proper hygiene recommendations and social distancing practices.

A news conference with Director of Public Health Katherine Wells and Public Health Authority Dr. Ron Cook will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, March 17, 2020, at the LFR Auditorium located at 1515 E. Ursuline.

For more information, call the City of Lubbock Health Department at 806.775.2933, or go to the website: www.mylubbock.us/COVID19.


 

Early Monday evening, the City of Littlefield, which is around 36 miles from Lubbock, confirmed that someone who visited the Texas Civil Commitment Center this month had tested positive for the coronavirus. It's unknown if that case is connected to Lubbock's.

That same day, Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope held an emergency meeting of the city council and proposed that gatherings of more than 200 people in the city be called off. A public health disaster was also declared by Mayor Pope.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott had already waived STAAR testing requirements across the state and activated the Texas National Guard.

As of March 17th, Texas Health and Human Services reported that there were 64 confirmed cases of the coronavirus across the state, including one fatality.

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