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Beaumont health department announces first confirmed case of COVID-19 delta variant

The department received the notification on Wednesday according to a news release.

BEAUMONT, Texas — Southeast Texas now has its second confirmed case of the COVID-19 delta variant.

The Beaumont Public Health Department announced in a news release Thursday morning that they had received notice of a confirmed case of the delta variant.

The department received the notification on Wednesday according to the release.

The announcement comes a week after Orange County announced it had confirmed its first case of the delta variant.

The Delta variant has our attention and it should have yours, Beaumont Public Health Director Kenneth Coleman told 12News last week.

"My concern comes from the low vaccination rate and the number of people who have not been vaccinated. I'm very, very concerned," Coleman said last week.

In Jefferson County as of July 28, 2021, about 47% of residents are fully vaccinated and 45% have received at least one shot. These statistics have fallen short of the national goal of 75%.

"Once it reaches Galveston County, which it has, once it reaches Harris County which it has, I believe it's here," Coleman told 12News last week.

The eight-county Southeast Texas region has seen nearly 1400 new cases in the past two weeks. With cases on the rise, health leaders believe getting vaccinated is the best path forward. 

"It's like everyone has gone about their day activities like COVID is gone. COVID is not gone, we still have it in the community," Sharon Whitley, Health Director for Hardin and Orange counties told 12News last week.

"In order to prevent the spread of COVID, we're encouraging everyone who's eligible to get the vaccine,” Whitley said.

MORE VACCINE | Here’s some of our latest stories on the COVID-19 vaccine

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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.

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