05/07/2020
Starr County death toll under-reported, hospitals at capacity, spike expected after 4th of July
Dr. Vazquez is also Starr County's Health Authority and is one in 823 COVID-19 positive cases in the county.
"I am staying home," he said via Zoom interview.
Starr County is on the cusp of being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases.
"The hospitals are getting saturated and are not able to handle the big influx of patients that we have. More and more people are dying every day."
On paper, Dr. Vazquez's claim of 'people dying everyday' may appear exaggerated in Starr County because press releases and updates state "3 deaths" as of July 3rd
However, a major backlog of paperwork has slowed the exact death toll.
"We know for a fact that more than 10 individuals have died in our county with COVID-19 related illnesses."
The backlog is on two fronts; hospitals and long term care facilities are overwhelmed with providing medical records to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services and the state is flooded with documents.
https://parentings.org/health/starr-county-death-toll-reported-hospitals-capacity-spike-expected-4th-july-64824420
STARR COUNTY, Texas - Starr County Memorial Hospital's Board President Dr. Jose Vazquez has confirmed to CBS4/LOCAL 23 News that COVID-19 beds are at capacity in the county.Dr. Vazquez is also Starr County's Health Authority and is one in 823 COVID-19 positive cases in