In Texas, Two Places with Very Different COVID-19 Stories

For most of his life, Ross Sharp has lived in Borden County¹ in north Texas.

Sharp said there are no strangers here. "I like the people. It's home," said Sharp. He started a family here and never left.

Fewer than 700 people live in Borden County. About 40 percent of them live in the small town of Gail.

Sharp has worked as a maintenance² supervisor³ at the Borden County schools for 30 years. He is now a county judge.

Coronavirus free

Sharp has a strong reason to feel good about the place. No one in the county has caught COVID-19, the disease⁴ caused by the new coronavirus.

However, Sharp knows that Texas has one of the largest numbers of COVID-19 cases. It has more than 400,000 confirmed cases and nearly 8,000 deaths.

"A neighboring town 75 miles (120 kilometers) away in a week could infect your whole county population," Sharp said.

Cows and oil are the county's two biggest businesses. Sharp said the high quality of its schools is a reason people want to live in the county. More than 50 percent of the students come from outside Borden County.

"That's probably one of the major areas of concern for me is a school starting up," he said.

High school student Austin Buchanan is worried about the coming school year. For two months this spring, his classes were all online because of restrictions⁵ aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. He does not know what to expect for this school year.

"This being my final year of high school, I want everything to be the way it's supposed to be, and COVID has definitely⁶ affected⁷ that," Buchanan said.

Richard Buchanan, Austin's father and his math teacher, said he hopes students will attend classes in person.

He said it is important for student to be together "because you might not see...your friends ever, you know, living 20 miles (32 kilometers) from school and on a farm," Richard Buchanan said.

Borden County's farm life may have kept its people free from coronavirus.

"We weren't around lots of people every day. Some people think it's a burden, and lately it's been a blessing," Richard Buchanan said.

Although there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Gail, life has changed.

Many people in Gail wear face coverings when they go to other towns, even to the nearest food store 50 kilometers away.

South Texas town

In the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, things are very different for Veronica Gonzalez.

Although many stores in the U.S. have been closed, her flower store is doing well because COVID-19 is "increasing our business, unfortunately."

"We've got funeral sprays⁸ to deliver tomorrow," said Gonzalez, whose shop is very near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Gonzalez lives in Roma, a Texas border town with about 12,000 people.

The coronavirus has hit Roma badly as well as the rest of the people in Starr County. It is a Latino-majority county that is one of the state's poorest. Large, multi-generational families often live together.

The county also has some of the highest rates of diabetes⁹ and obesity¹⁰ in Texas. People with those diseases¹¹ who get COVID-19 are at a high risk of other problems or even death.

When the coronavirus first started spreading, Starr County had very few cases. Then it "exploded," Gonzalez said.

The surge¹²

Starr County's battle with COVID-19 began at the end of April, when Texas started reopening its businesses. Then there was an increase in cases as people started to socialize more, said Dr. Jose Vasquez. He is a Starr County health official.

The area has one hospital and less than two doctors for every 10,000 people. In July, the county's top official announced on Facebook that doctors were going to have to decide who received treatment and who would be sent home to die.

Vasquez said that did not happen because state and federal¹³ government officials helped. The Navy¹⁴ sent two medical teams. The San Antonio veterans¹⁵' hospital began admitting Starr County patients.

More than 20 people from Starr County have died of COVID-19. Vasquez said there have been several deaths in some families.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

burden–n. something that is difficult to deal with, a problem

blessing–n. something good that you are grateful for

diabetes–n. a serious disease in which the body cannot control blood sugar

spray–n. a group of flowers

obesity–n. a condition in which someone is highly overweight

1 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

2 maintenance   

n.维修，保养，扶养费，维持，保持

参考例句：

• His small farm provides maintenance,but not much more.他的小农场能使他们维持生活，但仅此而已。
• He has to pay maintenance to his ex-wife.他必须给前妻赡养费。

3 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

4 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 sprays   

n.喷雾( spray的名词复数 )；浪花；喷雾器；（用作装饰的）小树枝v.喷( spray的第三人称单数 )；向…扫射（或抛洒），往…上撒；尤指雄猫撒尿（以示领地占有）

参考例句：

• A supernova sprays space with many different elements. 超新星会向宇宙放射不同种类的元素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Chemical thinners add another to the arsenal of sprays. 化学疏除剂已列入农药的宝库中。 来自辞典例句

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

11 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

12 surge   

n.汹涌，澎湃；vi.汹涌，强烈感到，飞涨；vt.放开，松手

参考例句：

• The surge travelled southwards along the coast.浪涛沿着海岸向南涌去。
• It failed to stimulate a surge of investment in industry.这没有能刺激工业投资的激增。

13 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

14 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

15 veterans   

经验丰富的人，老兵( veteran的名词复数 )； 退伍军人

参考例句：

• Some veterans of the two world wars gathered to celebrate their victory. 一些经历了两次世界大战的退伍军人欢聚庆祝胜利。
• Seasoned veterans were picked to storm the difficult enemy position. 有经验的老兵被挑选出来去突袭难攻的敌军阵地。