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Special to El Rrun-RrunWell, the bad news first.
The relatives of the elderly man (87) who had to wait a day at Valley Baptist Hospital to get X-ray results for COVID-19 because the hospital did not have a test kit for the virus tested positive this morning.
That followed his birthday dinner at a popular Mexican Restaurant on Boca Chica June 8 and a few days later, breakfast at another popular Alton Gloor Boulevard restaurant. It was on that day - two days ago - that he slumped over in his car when he got home and wan unable to exit the vehicle.
It would be two hours lying helpless in a hot car that he was finally found and rushed to VBH only to find out they did not have a test kit to determine immediately whether he had contracted the virus. Now, his relatives are angry this happened and say that he has been found to have kidney damage. All they can do is wait to see if he makes it.
Now, if it takes 14 days for the illness to manifest itself, that means that at least this one patient had been in contact with scores, if not hundreds of local residents. And take a gander at the Sports Park COVD-19 testing ledger up at the top. There are 592 tests pending after they showed some signs of illness. It could take days before they get the results.
Meanwhile, you hope those people take the sanitary distance precaution and wear a face mask or covering and stay away from their elderly or pregnant relatives. BY now, everyone know this invisible killer is everywhere around us and across the river in Matamoros it's in full bloom.
And while Cameron County Judge Eddie trevino was asking for the non-essential travel ban for Mexican residents to make up for lost revenue at the county' international bridges, the U.S. government extended the restrictions until July 21.
And if you take a gander at the ledger again, notice that 3,540 people who have been scheduled for testing after showing some symptoms of infections and have to wait in line for the test and take a number. The number above, by the way were posted by P.A. Eder Hernandez, who is in charge of the COVID-19 drive-thru testing center at the Brownsville Sports Park.
Think about it. If you pass the initial screening the possibility is high that you may be infected but have to wait for days before the city gets around to you to administer it. The danger is real.
The moral of this story? Take the necessary precautions yourself because the systems for detecting it and treating it locally leaver a whole lot to be desired.