BOWIE COUNTY, Texas - A letter from Bowie County's local health authority to a Texas district judge expresses concern over the rising rates of COVID-19 infection in the area and describes the situation as "critical."
The Aug. 14 letter from Texarkana physician Matt Young to 5th District Judge Bill Miller recommends the suspension of in-person jury trials for at least two weeks.
Young's letter lists five "contributing factors" as having influenced his opinion: "increasing number of cases due to community spread, new cases related to the reopening of schools daily, trend of rising COVID deaths, shortage of PPE, supplies, and healthcare workers and a taxed regional healthcare system."
Young did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday and Friday about the safety of in-person trials or the safety of in-person classes and sports for public school students.
Texas has a prohibition against in-person trials until Oct. 1 unless permission is obtained from the state's Office of Court Administration. Last week Miller and 202nd District Judge John Tidwell had pre-approved plans to try cases this week. Tidwell said he and Miller conferred further with Young and Bowie County Judge Bobby Howell as well as Region 10 Administrative Judge Alfonso Charles on Aug. 14 and decided to move forward with one trial and delay another.
Miller filed an order to continue trial for a defendant charged with possession of a controlled substance under one gram and attached a copy of Young's letter and a letter from Charles to the order. Potential jurors, who were required to wear masks, reported for jury selection in a capital murder trial Monday in small groups, and seats in the large central jury room at the Bowie County courthouse were marked with tape to help ensure social distancing.
During the trial, plexiglass partitions were in place on the judge's bench, defense and prosecution tables and in front of the witness chair. The trial was held Wednesday and Thursday in the central jury room rather than a courtroom because the larger space and extra seating allowed for better social distancing.
Some in the trial audience did not wear a mask, though all jurors did.
Since the state first began limiting in-person trials and hearings in March, Bowie County has hosted three of six in-person trials that have been held in Texas.
Howell said the county's Joint Operations Center has attempted to be as "transparent and informative" with the public about the COVID-19 risk in Bowie County as it "can legally be" considering laws protecting confidentiality. Howell pointed out that COVID patients who are treated in a Bowie County hospital and subsequently die from the disease are included in Bowie County's death count even though they may have become ill in a nearby county or state.
Young was named the Local Health Authority by city and county officials when they opened up their Emergency Operations Center (now known as the Joint Operations Center) in March, during the early days of the pandemic.
Bowie County's infection rate has risen steadily as schools and businesses reopen, daily infection numbers show. Howell said all citizens should wear a mask when in public, practice social distancing of at least six feet and avoid any large gathering.
"I personally think it is selfish not to wear a mask or socially distance," Howell said.
National health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend wearing a mask at all times in public spaces and in common areas of households where one member's contacts may put them at greater risk for infecting others in the same home. Good hand hygiene, including frequent and thorough handwashing and the use of hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60% alcohol, is essential also.