In light of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the area, the Brazos County Health District, or BCHD, announced it would no longer report daily cases.
After reporting daily COVID-19 numbers for Brazos County, Monday through Friday, BCHD has now made the move to allow the Department of State Health Services National Electronic Disease Surveillance System, or NEDSS, to report county case numbers. Brazos County Health Authority Dr. Seth Sullivan met with the press on Friday, Jan. 21 to provide updates on COVID-19 reporting for the county.
“We are in the third year of this response and with respect to the current situation, we would estimate we may have about 7,000 active cases,” Sullivan said. “Clearly, we can’t keep up with the number of cases that are available to do case investigations the way that we were able to try to keep up previously.”
Sullivan said the department is still focused on ensuring community health and will continue to keep COVID-19 at the front of its mind as well as also using the time to do other duties the department is responsible for. 
“This is not about giving up,” Sullivan said. “I wouldn’t want to convey to anybody that this is not important [or] this is not something that we shouldn’t be tracking or looking at … It’s a different part of the pandemic.We can’t possibly, with the resources that we have [keep up with this reporting]. This is not unique to Brazos County, this is a very widespread issue.”
The new system will continue to report cases Monday through Friday, though it will provide a broad spectrum for both individual counties as well as the state of Texas as a whole, Sullivan said.
Though the department will no longer report daily cases, according to a Jan. 21 BCHD release, it will continue to report and investigate COVID-19 concerns, where needed. 
“The BCHD will continue to support the community during the pandemic by focusing on investigating COVID-19 reinfections, vaccine breakthroughs, hospitalizations and deaths,” the press release reads. “The BCHD will continue to be an active resource by providing guidance and vaccinations throughout the Brazos Valley.”