Amarillo sees major increase of positive COVID-19 cases due to uptick in testing capability

The city of Amarillo’s public health department reported in Friday’s report card an increase of 734 cases of COVID-19 in Potter and Randall counties, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 2,673. Of those, 2,215 are currently active.

City officials stated in a news release that this increase is because of an increase of testing volume in the community, including testing conducted by the Texas National Guard at the Tyson meatpacking plant in Potter County.

Testing at the Tyson plant consists of 3,587 of the total 12,313 conducted COVID-19 tests reported to the public health department, according to the release. Out of the total number of conducted tests reported, 2,280 are currently pending.

The department is reporting a total of 2,080 cases of the virus in Potter County, with 1,765 being currently active. There have been 292 recoveries and 23 deaths, according to the report card.

Read more: https://www.amarillo.com/news/20200515/city-sees-major-increase-of-positive-covid-19-cases-due-to-uptick-in-testing-capability