Wood County has no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease spawned by the coronavirus which has been spreading worldwide since it was detected late last year in China.

The nearest confirmed cases have been in neighboring Smith County and in Gregg County, as well as cases in the Dallas area.

Tully Davidson, Wood County emergency management coordinator, confirmed no cases here as of earlier this week.

“As far as closings, that goes back to the CDC recommendations,” he said. “They put out a directive (Sunday) that any gatherings over 50 people should be canceled for the next eight weeks.”

As local officials continue to monitor the situation, Davidson noted, “We are not in a lock down state. People are still able to move around. The local health authority, which actually falls under the state authority, has the power to do a mandatory quarantine. They can place people in mandatory quarantine by a judge’s order.”

That authority would be the Northeast Texas Public Health District out of Tyler, which falls under the state health agency.

Davidson said adequate hand-washing and not traveling to areas where the disease has occurred are among the top recommendations.

He has posted information on the county’s website, mywoodcounty.com, that includes recommendations from the health authorities, including state and federal, and the county’s contingency plan should the virus be detected in the county.

UT Health in Quitman is taking several steps to prepare to combat the virus.

“We are committed to treating every patient who needs medical care. Our expert, well-trained clinicians regularly care for patients with severe respiratory illnesses and other infectious diseases. Our providers and staff follow best practices, using recommended tools and techniques to protect themselves, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“We are closely monitoring updates from the World Health Organization (WHO), the infection rate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other tracking tools.

“We will rely on our emergency management plan and practices to care for suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19.

“For the protection of our patients, visitors, and non-employees, our plan includes screening patients and guests. Depending on the status of the spread of the disease in the community, we may limit the number of hospital entrances in order to stage for respiratory screenings. We may also choose to restrict visitors for the protection of our patients and staff. These decisions will be announced through signage and other notices.

“We are also screening employees who have symptoms, have traveled by sea or air, or who have household members who have recently traveled internationally or domestically by sea or air.”