City Manager Peter Zanoni says this has been the worst week since tracking positive cases of COVID-19 in Nueces county during Friday's regularly scheduled Task Force news conference with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi researchers.
Thursday saw the highest increase of positive cases: 65.
At the end of the conference, Zanoni said Friday's number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases is 63.
So what is the cause of the increase in cases?
The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi COVID-19 Task Force used cellphone data to track when people left home and how often they were around bigger crowds. This helped them discover the current spike originated around Memorial Day Weekend.
“Now Memorial Day didn't cause this, but what we're seeing now, started around then,” said A&M-CC researcher Christopher Bird.
Local Health Authority Dr. Srikanth Ramachandruni states a few key points to remember right now: First is that area hospitals are different now than they were three months ago. They are better prepared for another spike in cases.
Ramachandruni said he has noticed that treatment works better when patients come "early on." He describes "early on" as recognizing certain symptoms that are more problematic, such as shortness of breath. He said this one is key: If you are short of breath, the he recommends getting an X-ray and getting checked.
Ramachandruni also said right now is the time to donate plasma. Every patient-plasma donation can save two lives.
Nueces Co. and city officials said wearing masks should be a necessity. Although currently there is no county mandate, they stress the importance of wearing a mask anytime you are outside of your home.