SMITH COUNTY, Texas — There are 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Smith County as of Tuesday, March 24 at 12 p.m.
According to county officials, evidence of community spread of the coronavirus has been found.
There are no COVID-19-related fatalities within Smith County.
As more test results are reported from private labs, this number may change and an additional release will be sent upon notification to the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
Other East Texas counties with confirmed cases include:
- Bowie County - 1
- Cass County - 1
- Gregg - 1
- Hopkins County - 1
- Morris County - 1
- Rusk County - 2
- Van Zandt County - 1
“There will be more cases -- the cases that are coming through that you’ll probably see this week, a lot of them are because we are catching up," Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran stated during a Tuesday morning Commissioner's Court meeting. "There’s kind of been a backlog on tests.”
Judge Moran also emphasized he is not getting recommendations from those in the medical community to put in place the generalized shelter-in-place order at this time.
“If at any point, those medical professionals start recommending to me tighter restrictions, you may likely see tighter restrictions," Judge Moran said.