LUBBOCK, Texas – As of Monday evening, Lubbock County has 180 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, along 6 deaths and 25 recoveries.
Mayor of Lubbock, Dan Pope, said the city wasn’t caught off guard with the initial round of cases three weeks ago. But with at least 5 of the 6 COVID-19-related deaths associated with the Whisperwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Pope decided the city had to increase its efforts to stop the spread.
“I think when you look at patients and employees and their family members, I think the number is more than 60,” said Pope.
Through an emergency declaration, the city has closed all non-essential businesses and extended the “stay-at-home” order until April 30. Pope said these steps can slow the spread, but a bigger issue must be addressed as well.
“We need more testing,” said Pope. “I’m really okay with finding more cases if we can identify the people that are sick and get them into quarantine.”
Pope hopes that the federal stimulus dollars set to assist Lubbock can pay for more testing.
“The more testing we have, the better sample we have,” said Pope. We can better evaluate the data and start to understand when the virus peaks in our market and when it starts to go down.”
This week, Pope held a conference call with local religious leaders as Easter Sunday is expected to be a challenging one without parishioners.
They don’t like this anymore than I do,” said Pope. “But they also understand the safety of their members and safety of our community.
The mayor strongly believes that “flattening the curve” in Lubbock will require everyone to do their part.
“That’s the message. It’s about doing what’s right for your family first, for your neighbors, and then for the community at large,” said Pope.
