PORT ARTHUR, Texas — COVID cases are up once again and many residents have seen an increase in cases this summer.
Some residents have noticed that their family and friends are coming down with the virus, but health experts say they have seen this happen over the past three years.
“The good thing is that we aren’t seeing the amount of hospitalization and the amount of deaths we saw initially,” said Port Arthur Public Health Department Director Judith Smith.
The symptoms for COVID look a lot different than they did five years ago. People may feel like they're experiencing allergies as opposed to a cold or the flu.
“What we hear most from individuals are sinus type symptoms, sinus headaches, pressure, pressure type headaches, a lot of sneezing,” said Smith.
Smith says while the virus is less severe than its 2020 counterpart, the end of the summer brings an uptick of cases.
“People are traveling more during the summer, you have family reunions, family gatherings so it is pretty much expected that you might see an increase,” she said.
During the peak of the summer, the department was reporting three or four cases a day, but now that number has grown to 10.
“We actually report for Port Arthur, Port Neches, Nederland, and Groves and when we look at what occurred last year it’s basically about the same,” said Smith.
In Beaumont, 14 new cases were reported on Thursday.
As kids head back to school, parents should take some precautions to keep the whole family safe.
“We still tell parents teach your children about covering their cough and sneezes and washing their hands often,” said Smith.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.