Ector County Health Dept. not keeping up with COVID death rate

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - The Ector County Health Department isn’t staying on top of how many people have died because of coronavirus on its online dashboard.

As of Friday at noon, it reports 154 people have died since the pandemic began.

However, Medical Center Hospital reported its 159th death today. Odessa Regional Medical Center says it has had at least 67 people die from COVID.

That’s 226, not counting those who have died in nursing homes or at home.

We’ve called the health department and asked to speak to director Brandy Garcia numerous times this week to find out why. She either hasn’t called us back, or we get the department voicemail, which is full.