By Mitch Borden
Crane County was one of the first West Texas communities to see a confirmed case of the coronavirus, but for weeks the community's growth in cases was stagnant as only two residents were confirmed to have COVID-19.
But now, an outbreak at a nursing home has spiked the county's case numbers. Officials confirmed two individuals living at Focus Care at Crane, a nursing home, have died due to complications related to COVID-19 on Tuesday.
The outbreak at the facility first came to the attention of health officials last week when a resident began running a high fever and tested positive COVID-19. The situation quickly transformed the nursing home into a full-blown coronavirus cluster.
Now, at least 21 residents and employees at the facility have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Crane County Judge Roy Hodges.
The City of Odessa and its two hospitals quickly stepped in to help with the situation. Medical Center Hospital provided over 76 rapid coronavirus tests, which the Odessa Fire Department used to test residents at Focus Care on Friday. Odessa Regional Hospital will also admit patients from the facility according to Judge Hodges.
The Texas Department of State Health Services is currently on-site providing support to the nursing home. Hodges explained state health workers are cleaning and helping staff the facility because employees who have tested positive are quarantining.
"I think we got control of it now," he continued, "The place is sanitized and everyone is in full [personal protective equipment] now."
The outbreak spans multiple communities because some of the facility's staff members who tested positive live in neighboring Ector and Pecos counties.
Currently, DSHS is reporting that at least 22 residents of Crane County have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since March.
