Arissa Viering | 7/28/2020 | Goodday Mineral Wells | COVID-19 Update | Local Businesses Update

MINERAL WELLS, TX – The COVID-19 pandemic continues. Numbers continue to rise. Data continues to become more and more evident of the spread. Restrictions mandating masks in businesses or large groups are continuing to accrue. Local businesses, schools, and citizens are witnessing the impact of the most recent legal mandates. The COVID pandemic is affecting every single citizen on some level.

The United States is seeing it, Texas is seeing it, and Mineral Wells is seeing it. So, what can be done about it?

THE NUMBERS – WHY FOCUS ON THEM?

On 5/29/2020, Palo Pinto General Hospital (PPGH) and the City of Mineral Wells reported twelve total positive cases and three active cases. Yesterday, 7/27/2020, 143 total positive cases and twenty-nine active cases were reported.

We could discuss further about the percentage of the total population in Palo Pinto County that has an active case of COVID. We could also talk about the steady rise in cases that has been seen.

We could pick apart these numbers and compare them to other cities within Texas. We could compare our city to metroplexes, the state, and event the country as a whole. There would be huge limitations to these numbers and, ultimately, one of the conclusions that we would come to is that not all numbers could be relied upon. The state numbers being reported are behind, the amount of testing that has burdened our laboratories has been difficult to keep up with, and not all individuals within Palo Pinto County will be tested at PPGH.

However, comparing the numbers won’t solve the problem.

We’ve spoken to many individuals within Mineral Wells regarding the numbers and, ultimately, the greatest need being communicated right now is for everyone to stop focusing on the numbers.

WHAT DO THE NUMBERS STAND FOR?

The daily numbers reported are a tool for the leaders of the city, the county, and the hospital to track trends. If any number should ever be focused on, it should be the number of fatalities. This number represents a life lost too soon, someone’s loved one, someone’s parent, someone’s husband or wife, someone’s child…

The number of fatalities symbolizes a heavy warning to all citizens in Palo Pinto County as it holds the heaviest consequence of COVID.

ACTIONS TAKEN BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Just after the announcement of these growing numbers and Governor Abbott’s mask mandates, Mayor Tammy Underwood sent a message to the people of Mineral Wells on July 3rd, 2020:

“The action does not come as a surprise based on the escalation in positive test results in Palo Pinto County. It is believed that social gatherings during the Memorial Day holiday weekend contributed to the increase in not only our community but the entire state of Texas . . . I certainly understand and support the Governor’s actions requiring the face coverings. Compliance with wearing face coverings and doing what is right to prevent the spread of the virus is up to each individual citizen in Mineral Wells and Palo Pinto County. Every citizen is being called to do what is right for the protection of themselves and others.”

CONCERNS IN THE COMMUNITY

The Goodday Mineral Wells team has received several questions from concerned citizens in Mineral Wells. Specifically, there are members of the Mineral Wells community that are concerned with going to work or visiting businesses when they have become aware of positive cases in the workplace. There are also several citizens that are seeing the negative impacts that the COVID pandemic and recent restrictions have placed upon local businesses. There are opposing views that surround this topic and many individuals are perplexed as to how to approach it while maintaining a good balance between COVID precautionary measures and ensuring the prosperity and wellbeing of the Mineral Wells community.

Many whispers about the COVID pandemic circulate through the town. Some businesses are checking temperatures at the door. Others are rumored by some citizens to not be encouraging quarantine even after fellow employees have tested positive. Some businesses are still operating after positive cases have been confirmed, per individual reports. Schools have released hundreds of pages of guidelines and the guidelines released by employers all vary. However, there is a good reason for all of this: “There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.”

CONCERNS REGARDING MASKS

One great example of a difficulty surrounding masks is discussed by Holly Hoover. Holly is a Mineral Wells Native and Admin for a Facebook group containing 216.2K members: BRT*BackRoads of Texas*.

Holly takes pride in her hometown of Mineral Wells and was even born in the Crazy Water Hotel. A couple weeks ago, Holly took a trip to a well-known supermarket in Decatur to purchase some fabric for masks. She was made aware that she would need to wear a mask to enter the facility. After putting on her mask and exiting her vehicle, she noted a police officer and several employees at the front of the market that were there to ensure masks were being worn.

Upon walking down one of the aisles, Holly overheard a group of employees chatting with a customer. She asked for one of the employees to assist with helping her to cut some fabric. The employee asked if she was making masks to which she confirmed. Suddenly, the employee made a statement that concerned Holly greatly:

“Well, I don’t know if I should tell anyone this, but we have had three employees test positive for COVID in the last two days. They [management] just told us we didn’t have to self-quarantine or anything.”

Anonymous Grocery Store Employee

Over the loud speaker, Holly could hear various announcements stating that customers were required to wear masks while in the store. After hearing what the employee had just stated to her, she became quite concerned.

“They weren’t enforcing what I understood to be the rules.”

Holly Hoover

CONCERNS REGARDING IMPACTS TO SMALL BUSINESSES & THE COMMUNITY

Regan Johnson, Business Owner of the Brazos Market & Bistro in Mineral Wells, provides a different perspective on the COVID pandemic. Johnson discusses some of her greatest concerns surrounding COVID:

“We are talking about our youth – we don’t know how they’ve been affected socially or psychologically. We’re talking about our senior citizens: the greatest generation that has lived through so much that we cant even imagine. They cant even hug their grandchildren and I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

Regan Johnson

Johnson compares coronavirus to a bad roommate. Imagining that an individual is living in a college dorm room where a “bad” roommate moves in, several solutions must be created to ensure that the individual can get past the roommate’s actions. Now, imagine coronavirus is the bad roommate:

“We may as well all assume we’ve had a bad roommate named Coronavirus move in so how do we live with it? How do you manage that and how do you mitigate it?”

Regan Johnson

Regan provides the answer to her questions easily:

“There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Everybody’s level of dealing with this is gonna be, and should be, based on their own risk level, at their own concern level, and based on their own exposure . . . We need to stop with the judging because what the best decision for you is probably not the best decision for me, but I can respect the fact that that is your decision.”

One important point that she lays out: “Fear has not ever produced anything positive so that’s not the way to move forward through this. That’s not the attitude to have to fix it . . . the only person’s behavior you can control is yours.”

CONCERNS REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY

Mayor Tammy Underwood has been watching the numbers carefully each morning. She works alongside team members to create solutions within Mineral Wells to combat Coronavirus daily.

“It’s every citizen in this community’s responsibility to abide by what’s right . . . I can’t beg our citizens enough to take heed of what our experts are telling us.”

Mayor Underwood

CONCERNS REGARDING NUMBERS

We have received numerous requests inquiring further about the reported COVID numbers in Palo Pinto County and Mineral Wells.

We spoke to several leaders within the community who wanted to make one point clear: the numbers should not be focused on.

Instead, prevention measures and how to implement them are what is most important and the precautionary measures that can be taken are solutions that can be practiced by every citizen to help their community. These precautionary measures can prevent the entire county from entering a future where resources are no longer accessible to those who need them most.

MINERAL WELLS, YOU ARE HEARD

All of the above are concerns that have been noted throughout the last two weeks and one point is very important through all of this:

There is a solution for every problem.

Cultivating an environment of fear or judgement is not the answer to this problem. Compulsively following the numbers reported is not the answer either.

Practicing the precautionary measures is the answer and, by doing so, our community will be avoiding the ultimate consequences of the COVID pandemic: further fatalities.

For a full listing of COVID precautionary measures, click here.

If you believe you are showing symptoms of COVID, click here.

If you are in need of mental health services and support, click here.

Stay strong, Mineral Wells!