Bell County is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Health officials are pointing to Killeen and the area around Fort Hood as the place seeing the most new cases.

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COVID-19 Rears Its Ugly Head Again

Our news partners at KWTX reported that new data from the Texas Department of State Health Services show that Bell County has seen a rise in new COVID-19 cases.

There are currently 595 active cases in the county right now. That's around 400 more than the 177 previously reported. The chief epidemiologist for Bell County, Costa Claver, warns us that COVID-19 is still a very real problem, saying, “Please know that COVID is there, it’s there and you can be susceptible to it when you’re not protecting yourself and you’re not vaccinated.”

Claver says about 60% of the new cases involve young adults 20-29 years old in the Killeen and the Fort Hood area saying, “I heard there’s been a number of graduation parties happening around there. Bearing in mind that cases are low and most people thinking COVID is over, people are just taking it easy and they’re not taking the precautions as serious.”

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With 4th of July celebrations coming this weekend, Claver reminds people that we should still be careful, vaccinated or not. Wash your hands frequently and keep a mask handy. The Delta variant is spreading across the country, and is said to be the dominant strain of the coronavirus and is affecting those who are unvaccinated.

CNBC reported today that the white house will send teams out to help cities with low vaccination rates raise those rates.

It's important to note that we're not through this yet, and if you're not feeling well, you should get tested. Find out more on testing and vaccinations on the county's website at bellcountyhealth.org

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