COVID-19: Texarkana Area Update for Friday Afternoon, May 1

Bowie County Emergency Operations Center reports a total of 101 positive COVID-19 cases, with 50 recoveries and 9 related deaths. Cass County has a total of 16 with 8 recovered. Miller County has 34 total cases, 250 negative results, 26 recovered, 1 death. Updated Friday afternoon, May 1.

Total Positive Cases in Bowie County	101
Bowie County Patients Hospitalized locally	4
Bowie County Patients Isolated at Home/Quarantine	38
Bowie County Patients Recovered	50
COVID-19 Deaths in Bowie County	9

Total Positive Cases in Cass County	16
Cass County Patients Recovered	8
Other COVID-19 Patients Hospitalized locally (non-Bowie County residents)	7

Joint Operations Center

More details on Bowie County cases are in the chart below:

Bowie & Cass County/City of Texarkana, TX

MEDIA UPDATE
5/1/20 at 3:00 PM

TEXARKANA, TX—Bowie County Emergency Operations Center reports a total of 101 positive COVID-19 cases, with 50 recoveries and nine related deaths. Cass County has a total of 16 with 8 recovered.

The Bowie County Shelter-in-Place order expired last night at 11:59 p.m. Bowie County Judge Bobby Howell urges residents to continue following Governor Abbott’s Executive Orders and following CDC guidelines for social distancing, handwashing, and sanitizing. Cass County Judge Becky Wilbanks also let her Stay-At-Home order expire last night as well.

The mandatory 10:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. curfew for the City of Texarkana, Texas is also cancelled.

Governor Greg Abbott announced earlier this week the first phase of the State of Texas' ongoing plan to safely and strategically open Texas while minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Under Phase I, certain services and activities are allowed to open with limited occupancy, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is issuing minimum standard health protocols for all businesses and individuals to follow. The Governor also outlined special guidance for Texans over 65 and detailed a comprehensive mitigation plan for nursing homes in Texas.

Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Bowie County (as of 5/1/20)

Total Cases in Bowie County 101

Ages (Bowie County Cases)

0-19: 3

20-29: 15

30-39: 20

40-49: 21

50-59: 16

60-69: 15

70-79: 11

80+: 0

Gender (Bowie County Cases)

Male 48

Female 53

Deaths 9

The Governor also announced a statewide testing and tracing program developed by DSHS that will help public health officials quickly identify and test Texans who contract COVID-19 and mitigate further spread of the virus.

By way of Executive Order (GA-18), all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and malls are permitted to reopen on Friday, May 1. These services must limit their capacity to 25% of their listed occupancy. Within shopping malls, the food-court dining areas, play areas, and interactive displays and settings must remain closed. The Governor’s Report to Open Texas, protocols for re-opening, and the Executive Orders can be found here: http://coronatxk.org/679/Executive-Orders-related-to-COVID-19

Businesses seeking information on capacity to comply with the Governor’s Executive Orders can contact the Emergency Operations Center at (903) 255-5560.

The Emergency Operations Center has teamed up with the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce to publish a Business Survey to gauge Economic Impact. All businesses in Bowie County are invited to submit a survey, to report positive or negative impacts to their business. The deadline is May 12, 2020 and the survey can be accessed at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHFOIw9o16XOhE2_Ul4iKlW0K775q7zsWmjctRpovfhTWDzw/viewform?usp=sf_link