County to host four walk-up test sites

By Wesley Gardner
LPR Editor

Caldwell County will host four walk-up test sites from Aug. 10-13 as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the county.
Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) officials noted the first test site will be located at the Dale Community Center on Monday, Aug. 10 and Tuesday, Aug. 11. The second site will be at Luling Northside Park on Wednesday, Aug. 12 and Thursday, Aug. 13. The testing is free. No appointment or symptoms are required to be tested. Face cover and physical distancing is required at each test site.
As of Tuesday, Caldwell County has recorded 1,071 cases, resulting in 23 deaths, according the Texas Department of State Heath Services. Of the 23 deaths, 15 occurred last week.
County officials noted a fatality is counted as a COVID-19 death when the medical certifier, usually a doctor with direct knowledge of the patient, determines COVID-19 directly caused the death. This method does not include deaths of people who had COVID-19 but died of an unrelated cause.
Officials also noted that the county received numerous calls last week regarding businesses that require face masks for entry.
“Please be aware that you can be denied service for not wearing face cover on private property,” OEM officials wrote in their weekly roundup of COVID-19 statistics. “Private businesses have the right to refuse service to patrons, just as patrons have the right to choose which establishment receives their business.
“The rule can be compared to “no shirt, no shoes, no service” standard. Some businesses will serve customers who don’t wear those items; others will not. If businesses are enforcing a policy in a nondiscriminatory manner, they have the right to refuse entry on their premises if the customer fails to comply.”
Face cover is still an ongoing requirement in public places by Governor Greg Abbott’s ordinance, as well as ordinances issued by the cities of Lockhart and Luling.
Statewide, Texas now has reported 451,181 cases, resulting in 7,016 deaths, according to the latest information available on Tuesday.
According to data provided by the John Hopkins University of Medicine, Texas’ seven-day positivity is currently 13.8 percent, which is up slightly from last week, though down considerably from the record 17.9 percent the state saw early last month.
The following is a list of all active cases in Caldwell County as of last Friday:
Lockhart: 273
Luling: 97
Dale: 154
Fentress: 1
Harwood: 1
Martindale: 22
Maxwell/Reedville: 30
Prairie Lea: 8
Red Rock: 1
Rosanky: 1
Uhland/Niederwald: 6
Unknown: 16