CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi presented their latest findings for local COVID-19 trends during the City's briefing to the public Friday.
They say the slight increase of cases reported recently could be linked to the heavy Memorial Day weekend activity around the area. The researchers say they will know for sure after they next week. They expect to see a downward trend.
Another discovery they found using cell phone data is that more people are heading back to the dentist and optometrists. However, their research also found that people are still hesitant to go to the doctor's office. One reason could be a fear of getting the novel coronavirus.
Health officials warn that that may be worse than actually contracting COVID-19.
"The medical outcomes are going to be worse if you don't get treated for whatever conditions you have right now that aren't good. you don't feel good outside of COVID-19," said Dr. Chris Bird with Texas A&M Univ.-Corpus Christi. "You have a pain in your chest. you need to get treated for that because you are more likely to have a negative outcome if you don't get treated."
On the positive side, they say the transmission rate for COVID-19 in Texas appears to be going down. And wearing face masks and social distancing has helped with that trend.
