WACO, TX — During a press briefing on Wednesday, McLennan County officials and the mayor announced a 4th death in the county.
The county judge said they are still looking for face masks. You are able to donate masks at www.covidwaco.com or www.mclennancountycovid.com.
The state has created a mental health support line. You can contact that line at 833-986-1919.
They answered questions from the public throughout the briefing. Questions ranged from if officials were wearing masks themselves to if more testing would become available in the county.
One DPS officer in the county and one Waco officer tested positive for COVID-19. Both individuals have recovered.
They said that you can call Ascension for primary care, and it is possible to get a test in non-emergency situations. In these situations, you will need to show symptoms.
In terms of parks, they said they have park rangers patrolling the area, and they have not had any issues. They also said for closed parks, such as the skate park, will have security officers check to make sure no one is using them.
They also reminded the public that parks are open aside from the amenities that were closed later this month.
During the briefing, they said they have no positive cases of COVID-19 in the city jails. They are testing employees temperatures twice a day.
The judge said that these areas are high risk, and they would like to have more testing for these individuals. However, measures have been put in place to keep everyone in the jail safe at this time.
In terms of antibody testing, that kind of testing is not being done in the county at this time.
They also addressed opening businesses in the state. The judge said that they will evaluate the governor's order and the current status of the community when they make decisions about opening up businesses.
The county judge said that it is hard to imagine that property taxes wont be impacted by this outbreak. He also said that sales tax will be affected as well.
The mayor said that they are estimating that the city will be losing $8 million in sales tax.