85 babies infected with COVID-19 in Texas county

NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Eighty-five babies under the age of 1 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in one Texas county, according to Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi, Texas.

Corpus Christi, located in Nueces County, has seen a dramatic increase in cases over the last month.

Peter Zanoni, the Corpus Christi city manager, said cases had plateaued until the beginning of this month.

“Amongst metropolitan counties in Texas, Nueces County has the fastest case growth in new cases right now in the seven-day average than any other metropolitan county in the state,” Zanoni said during a news briefing. “Back in April, we were reporting zero new cases — maybe three, maybe five. But things took a turn in July. You can see the trend line is relatively flat until July, and this is where we have had that huge spike in cases, and this is why it’s turned into a major problem for Nueces County.”

Zanoni said Friday the seven-day average for the county was 357 cases a day.

So far, more than 307,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Texas with more than 12,000 new cases recorded on Friday alone. In Nueces County, just one of 254 counties in the state, 8,400 cases have been reported altogether.

In contrast, 366,000 cases have been recorded in California, 323,000 cases have been reported in Florida and 222,000 cases have been reported across New York City’s five boroughs.

Rodriguez said many Texans have been spreading the virus to family members in their homes and at intimate gatherings.

“We are seeing a lot of transmissions between family members,” she said. “Don’t invite others into your home to get this illness.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order July 2 requiring masks in all counties with more than 20 coronavirus cases. However, face coverings are not required for children 10 or younger, for individuals with certain health conditions, at religious services or while individuals are alone with others from their household.

The governor banned gatherings of 10 or more people but noted an exception for certain outdoor events and weddings -- activities where families with children commonly get together.

“These babies have not even had their first birthday yet,” Rodriguez said during Friday’s news conference. “Please help us to stop the spread of this disease.”

Officials are urging Texans to observe social distancing guidelines, wear masks and stay home when possible.

Texas entered phase three of reopening in early June. Restaurants were allowed to operate at 75% capacity, summer schooling resumed, child care facilities reopened and bars could reopen with limited capacity. Hair salons, nail salons and gyms were also allowed to reopen with restrictions in May.

After cases began to surge again in late June and early July, Abbott reimposed stricter limitations and shut down bars. He said in an interview Thursday that he’s been asked many times if he’s shut down the state again.

“People are panicking, thinking I’m about to shut down Texas again,” Abbott told KPRC-TV in Houston on Wednesday. “The answer is no. That is not the goal. I’ve been abundantly clear.”

“Let me tell you, there is no shutdown coming ... The last thing that any of us want is to lock Texas back down again,” he told Houston-based KRIV-TV Thursday. “But the only way we can avoid a shutdown is if we do get everybody buying into this process of wearing a face mask.”

In Nueces County, where the 85 babies have contracted COVID-19, Judge Barbara Canales said the county is number two in the state in regards to death per capita.

State Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Joaquin Castro wrote a letter to Abbott advocating for local authorities to impose stay at home orders.

“Texas is now not where it should be relating to fighting COVID-19,” the letter said, according to CNN. “Therefore, your office should take immediate action to rewind the efforts to reopen the state quickly; which came about by ignoring CDC guidelines. We need to provide local authority to local counties and cities to do what is in the best interest of their communities.”

Cox Media Group