REGARDING COVID-19
Protect yourself and other by following theses steps:

1. If you are sick, stay home, unless you are seeking medical care.
2. If you have a weakened immune system, or underlying health conditions, that put you at greater risk of becoming ill, stay home. People 65 and older are also at greater risk of developing severe disease.
3. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.
4. Disinfect hard surfaces and frequently touched surfaces, such as countertops, doorknobs and faucets. When you shop, wipe down the handle of your shopping cart with antibacterial wipes.
5. Practice social distancing by keeping six feet between you and other people, especially if they are sick.
6. Cover your cough with your elbow or a tissue and throw that tissue in the trash.
7. Avoid touching your face, eyes, and mouth.
We ask that you use caution and do what is best for you and your family.
If you have questions or concerns, please call the Sweetwater -Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update: July 1^st 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting six new cases of Covid-19 for Nolan County and three more for Fisher county.

The cases range in age from 16 to 54 years of age.

Two cases appear to be travel related.  The others community spread.

If you visited Subway on Broadway or on North West Georgia Ave from June 14^th to June 28^th, monitor your health or call the health department for guidance.

One case said they went to Walmart on Saturday, June 27^th between 10:30 and noon. They also went to Family Dollar on Sunday June 28^th around 7 pm.

If you visited Elegance Nails from June 16th to June 28^th monitor your health or call the health department for guidance.

If you have done business at the Nolan County Courthouse in the last 14 days, please monitor your health and call the health department if you have questions.

Nolan Nursing and Rehab in Sweetwater has also been affected with positive cases (staff) and we have been in touch with the facility.

As we gain more information that we can share with the public, we will do so.

Update 6/30/ 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting three new Covid-19 cases for Nolan County and four new cases for Mitchell County. We have been able to move one Nolan County case to a recovered status.

These cases range in age from 17 to 56 years old.

Some are contacts to positive cases we have already reported. They are isolating at home.

We are doing contact tracing and asking each positive case for a 14 day history. This proves difficult, as some can remember a store or restaurant they have been to and what day they went, but they are unsure of an exact time. We have been asked to narrow down time frames and we are trying to do so.

With that being said, we want you all to know that we feel there is community spread at this point. We encourage you to treat every encounter you have as a possible exposure to Covid-19. We cannot single out certain stores or restaurants that are safe or unsafe. Right now, everyone should be cautious no matter where you shop, dine or seek entertainment.

If you visited Dollar General in Colorado City on June 16^th, Family Dollar in Colorado City, on June 16^th or Buck’s Steak House between June 9^th and June 23^rd, please monitor your health or call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/25/ 2020

Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting two more positive cases of Covid-19.

The first is male and is between 40-50 years of age.  He visited Sutherland’s, Higginbotham’s and o’Riley’s on Saturday morning, but was uncertain of times. He also visited Walmart between 2:30 and 3:30 on Saturday afternoon and then Brookshire’s around 7:30 that evening. He states he did not wear a mask.

The second positive is female and is between 30-40 years of age. She visited Dollar General on Sunday, June 21^st at noon and Dollar Tree on Monday, June 22^nd at noon. She states she does wear a mask when going out in public.

We are doing contact tracing and testing has increased. With the increase in cases and community spread, we encourage residents to be proactive with their own health and that of their family. Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer, practice social distancing and stay home if you are sick. While masks are not mandatory, they are encouraged, especially in large crowds.

If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/24/ 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting three new positive Covid-19 cases today.

The first case is female and is between 60-70 years old.

The second case is male and is between the age of 40-50 years old.

The third case is female and is 0-2 years of age.

Two of these cases do have a travel history to other parts of Texas.

As part of our interview process, we will be asking our positives if they wear masks. While wearing a mask is not mandatory at this point, it is encouraged. The two adult positives that we are reporting today, did say they wear a mask when going out in public.

We would also like anyone who attended the peaceful march on Friday, June 19^th to please monitor your health and if you begin to have any of the symptoms of Covid-19, such as fever, shortness of breath, stomach issues or loss of taste and smell, please call the health department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/23/ 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department has three more positive cases of Covid-19 to report.

The first new case is a female between 50-60 years of age.  She states that she visited Walmart, Buck’s Steak House and El Papagayo’s in Sweetwater on Friday, June 19^th.  She also shopped at Brookshire’s on Saturday, June 20^th.

The second new case is also female and is between the age of 40-50 years old. She denies that she has been out of the county and is self-employed.

The third new case is also female and is between the age of 19-30 years old. She states that she visited Walmart on Sunday, June 21^st in the afternoon hours and the new splash pad at Newman park on Saturday, June 20^th between noon and 3 p.m.

With the increase in cases locally, we encourage the community to stay vigilant and practice good hygiene and social distancing. Contact the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department if you have questions or concerns at 325-235-5463.

Update 06/22/2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting another positive case for Mitchell County. This case is a female, between 40-50 years of age. This is an ongoing investigation and contact tracing is being done. This case traveled to Midland, Texas earlier this month but denies any other travel outside of Mitchell County.

Update 06/21/2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department has three more positive cases of Covid-19 to report. This brings our active cases to ten.

Our first positive case is a close contact to one of our positive cases from last week. This case is between 50-60 years of age. She was already in isolation due to the fact she was a close contact to a positive case, and she began to feel ill and got tested. She has not been anywhere in town.

Our second new positive is also female. She is between 50-60 years of age. She is a travel related case and during the interview process, we learned she shopped at Brookshire’s in the evening hours of Monday, June 15^thand also did laundry on Tuesday, June 16^th at the Quick Wash laundromat in Sweetwater.

Our third positive is also female and is between 19-30 years of age. This case also appears to be travel related. She states she has not been anywhere in town since arriving back home.

Contact tracing is being done.  If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/19/2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department has two more positive Covid-19 cases to report. These are contacts to one our positives. Both are male. One is between 20-30 years of age and the other is between 5-10 years of age.

They traveled to Abilene on Saturday, June 13^th and visited China Star and Lowe’s in the afternoon hours. They had not been tested and were not having symptoms at the time. Contact tracing will continue and updates will be provided as needed.

If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/17/ 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting three more positive cases today. Two cases are linked to the travel related case we reported Monday.  The third, is an isolated case, but also appears to be travel related.

The first new case is male and is between 50-60 years of age. He has one household contact that is being tested at this time.

The second new case is female and is also between 50-60 years of age. She has one household contact who has been tested and is negative. She states that before being tested she went to Walmart on Sunday, June 7^th around 4 pm.

The third new case is female and is between the age of 50-60 years old. She also states that she visited Walmart and Dollar Tree on Friday, June 12^th

These cases are isolating at home and contact tracing is being performed. Testing is being set up for the contacts. If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 6/ 15/ 2020

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department has been notified that we have another positive case of Covid-19. This case is travel related. The case is between the age of 70-80 years old. Contacts are being interviewed and testing is being set up for those contacts. This case denies that he has been anywhere in town since arriving back in Sweetwater. This is an ongoing investigation and we will give you more information as it becomes available.

Update 6/9/2020

Following re-testing at Sweetwater Health Care Center, five cases of Covid-19 we reported last week, have been ruled false positives.

In addition, one of the positives we reported earlier last week, a gentleman who works in Snyder Texas, between the age of 68-78, was also retested, due to the high volume of false positives being reported amongst the testing done by the National Guard and the Emergency Medical Task Force, he was also ruled a false positive.

This brings our actual number of active positive cases to (1) and that is the TDCJ employee we reported on Friday, June 5^th.

Going forward, we will only be reporting active positive cases, recovered cases of Covid19, deaths due to Covid19 and we will give a year to date total for each county.

If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department was notified that there is another positive Covid-19 for our county. This individual is between the age of 40-50 years old. There is one household contact. During an interview it was learned that the individual visited both Walmart and Dollar General over the past seven days. If you have questions or concerns or feel you’ve been exposed to Covid-19 or if you need testing, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Update 06/03/2020 

In compliance with Governor Abbott’s mandate to test all nursing homes in the state of Texas,  Nolan Nursing and Rehab in Sweetwater and Sweetwater Health Care have received results and they are as follows:

Nolan Nursing and Rehab tested 78 residents and 75 staff members and all those tests have come back NEGATIVE as of 05/26/2020

Sweetwater Healthcare tested 60 residents and 54 staff members on 05/26/2020 and (4) residents tested positive and (2) staff members tested positive. One of those staff members was from Taylor County and that information has been passed along to the Taylor County Health Department. The other staff member is from Sweetwater and is a female between the age of 40-50 years old.

The four residents that tested positive as Sweetwater Health Care have been transferred to an isolation facility in another city. The staff member that lives in Sweetwater has been notified and during a telephone interview, contact tracing was performed and those contacts are being notified.

She does state that in the last week she has shopped at Walmart and Dollar Tree. If you have questions or concerns, please notify us at 325-235-5463.

Update 5/12/2020

On Tuesday, May 12th, the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department was notified by Hendrick Medical Center, that an 87 year old male, from Fisher County, had tested positive for Covid-19 and was currently in their hospital. In a telephone interview with the patient’s daughter, it was learned that there is one household contact, who is currently in isolation and awaiting test results. The only travel history this patient had was to his doctor in Taylor County.

Update 4/23/2020 

On Thursday, April 23^rd, the Sweetwater – Nolan County Health Department was notified by Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, that a patient was tested for Covid-19 and the results had come back positive. The patient is a 37 year old female who was not admitted to the hospital. The patient is a resident of Sweetwater, and traveled to Sweetwater from another city in Texas. She is aware of her positive result and is isolating at this time and will be monitored by the health department for 14 days. The health department is also doing contact tracing. This is the first positive case for Nolan County.

4/14/2020 News Release

On Tuesday, April 14^th, the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department was notified by Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, that a patient in the hospital had tested positive for CoVid 19. This patient is not from Nolan county. This case is not a resident of Texas and will therefore not be counted in the Nolan county testing update.

While driving through Nolan County, on Sunday, April 12^th, the patient stopped at the TA Truck Stop in Sweetwater Texas, during the hour of 2:30 to 3:30. During a telephone interview with the patient, he stated he went into the TA Truck Stop to use the restroom and then visited Popeye’s chicken, where he ordered a meal. He states he was wearing a mask when he entered the business. He then walked back out to his vehicle to sit and eat and that is when he felt ill and called for paramedics.

The Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department notified the TA Truck Stop and spoke with the manager to inform him that staff, especially those working the register at Popeye’s should isolate themselves and monitor themselves for signs of CoVid 19.

If you visited the TA Truck Stop or the food court, on Sunday April,12^th during the hour of 2:30 to 3:30, you should isolate and monitor your health. If you develop fever, shortness of breath or cough, seek medical attention.

Remember to wash your hands or use hand sanitizer, cough and sneeze into your sleeve, practice social distancing and stay home unless it is necessary for you to go out.

If you have questions or concerns, please call the Sweetwater Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

Testing for Coronavirus (COVID-19)

We have had many calls asking if the health department performs testing for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We do not.

If you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or if you have traveled to a place where COVID-19 is widespread, or if you develop fever, cough and shortness of breath, seek medical attention. Asymptomatic (having no symptoms) people are not being tested at this time.

Call ahead to your physician or emergency room if you feel you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms. If you are calling 9-11, tell the dispatcher about your symptoms and any travel history or exposure you feel you’ve had

June 25^th, 2020

Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department is reporting two more positive cases of Covid-19.

The first is male and is between 40-50 years of age.  He visited Sutherland’s, Higginbotham’s and o’Riley’s on Saturday morning, but was uncertain of times. He also visited Walmart between 2:30 and 3:30 on Saturday afternoon and then Brookshire’s around 7:30 that evening. He states he did not wear a mask.

The second positive is female and is between 30-40 years of age. She visited Dollar General on Sunday, June 21^st at noon and Dollar Tree on Monday, June 22^nd at noon. She states she does wear a mask when going out in public.

We are doing contact tracing and testing has increased. With the increase in cases and community spread, we encourage residents to be proactive with their own health and that of their family. Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer, practice social distancing and stay home if you are sick. While masks are not mandatory, they are encouraged, especially in large crowds.

If you have questions, please call the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department at 325-235-5463.

June 26^th 2020

We have four more positive cases in Sweetwater to report today and three from Fisher County. Some of these cases are household contacts of positive cases and were already in isolation. Others appear to be travel related. None of these patients are hospitalized.

Two are male between 10-20 years of age.

One is male between 60-70 years of age.

One is male between 20-30 years of age.

The other three are female between 50-60 years of age.

Contacts are being notified.

If you shopped at Holt’s Thriftway, Landis Furniture or if you visited Stomping Grounds Coffee in Rotan on Thursday, June 18^th, please monitor your health and notify the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department or your primary physician if you need testing.

Two of the adults interviewed do wear a mask when going out in public.