DEL RIO, Texas — As the number of novel coronavirus cases continues to surge across Texas, some rural communities are also seeing an increase.
In Val Verde County, the number of cases have skyrocketed in the last few months, adding stress to a rural healthcare system already lacking key resources to fight the virus.
Del Rio Mayor Bruno “Ralphy” Lozano said the only hospital in Val Verde County is under severe stress.
“We’re seeing patients in the hallways,” Lozano said. “Every room is occupied. Every trauma room is occupied. Every emergency room is occupied. We’re flooded.”
Lozano said the county is now seeing 50 to 70 cases a day, a major jump from the 20 or 30 cases a day for which health officials had prepared.
Those numbers may seem small compared to Bexar County, but the rise in cases has caused the Val Verde Regional Medical Center to near its capacity, according to Lozano. And it's the only hospital in the county that can take new patients.
“We don’t have the staff to accommodate the patients,” Lozano said. “We’re going to become a COVID-only hospital pretty soon.”
Lozano said the rise in cases started after Mother’s Day, and followed other holidays like Memorial Day and Father’s Day.
Before then, Val Verde County had reported just 13 cases in 45 days, all of which had recovered before the recent surge.
But now, the positive numbers are nearing 1,000.
“We’re unable to test persons as quickly as this virus is spreading,” Lozano said.
Lozano added that, with the hospital nearing capacity, health officials have requested to move critical patients to larger medical facilities in San Antonio. But with Bexar County dealing with its own surge, Val Verde patients are being wait-listed.
“Some of these transfers are waiting 36 hours,” Lozano said. “And these patients are struggling as it is.”
Meanwhile, the lack of available medical staff is exacerbating the emergency.
“We received some assistance nurses as well, but as soon as they get here the beds are online, and again we’re shortstaffed."
Lozano said one of the culprits of the spread is family gatherings.
“You need to be separate from people that are not in your household,” he said. “People are confusing the term 'household' with 'family.'”
Lozano said there’s also a surge across the border in Ciudad Acuna.
“Never in my lifetime have I ever seen an American passport-holder have to go through restrictions to enter the country of Mexico as I’m seeing on the border right now,” Lozano said. “Acuna is trying to protect its citizens from us.”
The recent surge in cases has prompted the mayor to take to social media, and call for a voluntary 21-day stay-at-home effort.
He said the effort is not mandatory, but he highly encourages that residents stay home unless out for essential business.
“The governor has stripped mayors and judges of local authority to enforce civil penalty for those that are violating any stay at home order,” Lozano said. “Although I can’t require it, I have to get this message out that we are in desperation right now to help alleviate the rise in cases.”
The Del Rio native said this close-knit community has been hit hard with eight deaths reported, as of Friday. The Val Verde Regional Med Center announced on Facebook that one of those deaths was an employee at the hospital.
“I need to ask my community to help these medical groups out,” Lozano said. “We know these doctors. We know these nurses. We know that they’re sacrificing their time away from their loved ones and families to help the patients.”
Lozano said health officials anticipate more deaths to come. He said the county has requested a refrigerator truck to house the bodies; that should arrive in the coming week.
It’s a grim reminder, Lozano said, that everyone needs to do their part to stop the spread in this rural border community.
“This is a health emergency," he said. "And we need to start thinking about how we’re going to save lives because the only way to recover our economy is take action now."