One Texas county is becoming overwhelmed with coronavirus cases as more than 80 infants under the age of 1 have tested positive for the illness, CNN reports.
The number of coronavirus cases in Nueces County—which is home to Corpus Christi—has spiked in July after flattening. The virus seems to be impacting children, according to the director of public health for Corpus Christi, Annette Rodriguez, after 85 infants tested positive for COVID-19.
"We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19," Rodriguez said before urging people to be cautious about the spread of coronavirus.
"These babies have not even had their first birthday yet," she continued. "Please help us stop the spread of this disease."
Nueces County has the fastest growing number of new cases on a 7-day average than any other county in the state, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni, tells CNN. The rise has led to close to 8,100 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Corpus Christi, resulting in 82 deaths. Other Texas counties like Cameron and Hidalgo are experiencing dramatic spikes. As a result, state representatives Sheila Jackson Lee and Joaquin Castro wrote a letter to Gov. Greg Abbot explaining that local governments should be able to issue stay-at-home orders to help control the outbreak.
"Texas is now not where it should be relating to fighting Covid-19. Therefore, your office should take immediate action to rewind the efforts to reopen the state quickly; which came about by ignoring CDC guidelines," the letter reads. "We need to provide local authority to local counties and cities to do what is in the best interest of their communities."
