Participants join in a protest gathering for George Floyd at the pavilion in Port Arthur. The event was organized by the area NAACP. Photo taken Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Kim Brent/The Enterprise
Photo: Kim Brent / The Enterprise
Health officials urge coronavirus precautions during protests
As businesses reopen and George Floyd rallies continue, some experts worry people have grown lax about wearing masks, washing their hands and taking other precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“I think because of the season we’re in with the rallies and protests, (wearing masks) is the only thing we can do to help protect ourselves when we’re in a large gathering like that. In many cases social distancing is not able to be followed,” Port Arthur Public Health Director Judith Smith.
“People need to remember that we’ve not contained it, so as well as wearing a mask while in public, we should still be washing our hands and sanitizing.”
Smith’s city was the site of peaceful demonstrations, including one Tuesday that drew some 500 protesters, many of whom were masked. On Wednesday, it ran its first city-sponsored COVID-19 testing site.
Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie and other Port Arthur officials had been seeking a testing site there for weeks. They were concerned that not enough residents were able to get to other places, including the since-closed regional testing location at Jack Brooks Regional Airport.
The health department played a large role in running that drive-thru testing site, but Bartie and others were concerned about its distance from Port Arthur and other compounding factors.
More Information
Helpful numbers
(409) 550-2536: Hotline for residents of Jasper, Jefferson, Hardin, Newton, Orange and Tyler counties who want to be tested for coronavirus.
211, option 6: For general coronavirus inquiries.
(512) 883-2400 or txcovidtest.org: Appointments for testing through state of Texas on Friday and June 12 for Jasper County residents.
(409) 983-8880: Appointments for testing in Port Arthur Tuesday and June 11.
If you go
What: Port Arthur coronavirus testing
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday and June 11
Where: West Side Development Center, 601 W. Rev. Dr. Ransom Howard Dr. (Tuesday); Port Arthur Civic Center, 3401 Cultural Center Dr. (June 11)
What: Jasper coronavirus testing
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Jasper County Annex Building, 217 E. Lamar St.
What: Buna coronavirus testing
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 12
Where: Buna Sub-Courthouse, 22635 Hwy 96
By the numbers
Jefferson County confirmed COVID-19 cases:
Beaumont486
Port Arthur64
Nederland16
Groves13
Port Neches10
China4
Cheek2
Nome2
Fannett1
Hardin County confirmed COVID-19 cases:
Batson1
Kountze15
Lumberton58
Silsbee56
Sour Lake8
A one-day testing site set up in Port Arthur a month ago drew more people than any other one-day site.
Still, it took Port Arthur about two weeks longer than Beaumont to get its site up-and-running when the regional site closed.
On Wednesday, the new testing site saw about 65 people during the five hours it was open. Smith considers that a success.
The city has at least two more testing days scheduled next week.
Smith said the majority of the people who came to the site on Wednesday didn’t have symptoms, but they knew they could be asymptomatic and wanted to be tested after hearing about the drive-thru site.
“Everything I heard from people was that they were appreciative to have a place to go for testing,” Smith said.
Riceland Healthcare, which is working with the city to run the site, expects test results in three to five days.
Smith said the city is working to get a surveillance specialist to make daily calls to clinics that are doing the testing to get more information about how many people are tested each day. That will give the city a better idea of how many people have been tested and what percentage of the population may have contracted the virus.
The city of Beaumont has been experiencing a similar issue as Wednesday was its sixth day in a row to receive positive test results without seeing the number of test kits it has pending go down.
That likely means the positive results are coming from tests taken at private clinics, which are required to report only positive cases, not testing totals.
The four new Beaumont cases confirmed on Wednesday compares with 17 confirmed in the Beaumont area the day prior.
Altogether, Jefferson County had confirmed 589 cases since the outbreak began.
Hardin County on Wednesday reported six new cases over the past week. The county has confirmed a total of 139 cases.
The county is still doing testing for residents of Hardin and Orange counties.
The public health departments in Beaumont and Port Arthur will have more testing this week.
Testing clinics on Friday and June 12 in Jasper County will be run by the state of Texas.
kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com