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Reports say San Angelo has the highest increase of COVID-19 cases in Texas

After a number of COVID-19-related deaths and hundreds of people hospitalized, local officials are continuing to urge people to get vaccinated

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Howard College Executive Dean Pam Callan, San Angelo Chamber of Commerce CEO Walt Koenig, Tom Green County Judge Steve Floyd, San Angelo Independent School District Superintendent Carl Dethloff, Angelo State University president Ronnie D. Hawkins, and San Angelo Mayor Brenda Gunter issued video statements Friday encouraging people to stay safe and get vaccinated to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

A school board member came up with the idea for the different entities in San Angelo to address the public during a community COVID-19 task force call that happens every Monday.

Last week, 24/7Wallst.com reported San Angelo as the number one city in Texas with the fastest spread of COVID.

The online story states: ‘In the San Angelo metropolitan area, there were an average of 155.0 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending August 30 - the fastest case growth of any city in Texas.’

San Angelo officials recorded 275 new COVID cases from Friday-Monday with 1,462 active cases and 69 people currently hospitalized.

Brian Groves, San Angelo communications manager, has been keeping count of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago. He said there has been a wave of COVID cases since the delta variant made its way to San Angelo and doing what is necessary can get Tom Green County out of this COVID hump.

“The delta variant is making a huge impact everywhere. We did see a bit of a decrease last week in COVID cases so hopefully we’re headed in the right direction in slowing down the spread. Even if the numbers are going down, that doesn’t mean we should keep doing what we’re doing. That means wearing a mask, getting tested, and getting vaccinated,” Groves said.

With classrooms and football games being canceled every week since the first day of school because of rising COVID cases in primary and secondary schools, some researchers are saying a vaccine for those ages 5-11 could be available by the end of October 2021.

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