RAYMONDVILLE — In seven days, coronavirus cases have begun multiplying in sparsely populated Willacy County.
On Thursday, the state health department confirmed two new cases of the COVID-19 virus, driving the county’s total number to four cases during the last week.
Meanwhile, Frank Torres, the county’s emergency management coordinator, urged residents to stay home to comply with federal and local shelter-in-place orders mandating residents to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus.
“There’s an even stronger message for people to stay home,” Torres said. “If you don’t have to leave your house for anything, don’t leave your house.”
Torres said health officials offered no details regarding the infected residents’ ages, sex, hometowns or whether any of the two new cases are related to the county’s two previous cases.
County’s first cases
On March 26, Raymondville Mayor Gilbert Gonzales said a 4-year-old had become the county’s first confirmed case of the virus.
The child is a student at Pittman Elementary School, which officials had closed along with other schools across the county on March 13, Ben Clinton, deputy superintendent of the Raymondville school district, said.
On Sunday, officials confirmed the county’s second case, which Clinton only described as being an adult.
After confirming the county’s second case, Torres said authorities were investigating contacts the resident’s family may have had with others.
