(Courtesy photo: County Judge Wade McKinney.)
Note: This interview was recorded at the Courthouse Annex on Wednesday, July 1.
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By Michael V. Hannigan
There have been 26 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Henderson County in the past three days (June 30 - July 1), but some local residents have questioned what that means.
Specifically, they have questioned if the reported cases have been confirmed through testing.
The answer is: Yes, Henderson County cases reported by the Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) are cases that have been confirmed through testing.
“Those are test confirmed cases,” said County Judge Wade McKinney. “They are not assumptions, they are not ‘probable.’ Those are truly test-confirmed cases.”
The local confusion stems from a video from a Collin County Commissioners Court meeting in May describing a change to the definition of “probable case.”
So, if probably cases aren’t part of the official count, why do we care about them?
McKinney -- who said he prefers the term “first person contact” rather than probable case -- said it is important to identify these contacts in order to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
He added that he believes much of the uncertainty in the community comes from the way officials started tracking the pandemic.
“I feel that many of the battles we’re having are the legacy of the confusion at the beginning,” he said.
McKinney also cautioned people about using old information for a situation that is changing as quickly as the pandemic.
Listen to the full interview above for more of our discussion on COVID-19.
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