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County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider provided an update regarding mandated COVID-19 testing in nursing homes and concerns about a spike in new cases during Tuesday's commissioners court meeting.
Schneider confirmed a spike in COVID-19 case counts in the month of May is correlated with reopening of the Texas economy.
“I’m a little nervous as I look behind me and I only see a handful of facemasks on,” Schneider said. “Social distancing is not happening as we recommend it. This is not going away. People need to stay home as much as they can and wash their hands as much as possible.”
The update comes after Hays County saw its fifth fatality due to COVID-19, the second in four days. Hays County has seen its four highest single day increases in the last week, and total case counts have doubled in the month of May.
Schneider also provided the update that out of 967 nursing home staff and residents who were tested by the governor’s order, zero tests came back positive.
“I expected an uptick to happen. We stay cautiously optimistic,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said.
In anticipation of additional viral spread as a result of opening, the county is planning four additional testing sites on the east side of Hays County. They also expect increased numbers after entering an agreement with the state’s contact tracing system Health Trace.
Hays County Epidemiologist Ian Harris said, “It's a web based program where we can quickly and efficiently communicate with other jurisdictions. We will gain more cases because of that, but in the long run, it's about getting ahead of the virus.”
Becerra made an additional request to add more data to the weekly jail population report he receives from the sheriff's office and get a better understanding of where increases are coming from. The report will now include arrests by agency in addition to population counts. This week’s report showed seven arrests in Buda, zero from the Department of Public Safety, 39 from the Hays County Sheriff's Office, 20 from Kyle, 35 from San Marcos and zero from Texas State University.
The Hays County Sheriff's Office arrests include court ordered commitments, individuals turning themselves in from any jurisdiction and warrant pickups from other counties.
The court also authorized execution of a contract between Hays County and Allison, Bass & Magee, L.L.P., for redistricting within Hays County.
They also gave the go ahead to the Office of General Counsel to consolidate its two office locations within Suite 201 of the historic courthouse and to provide a public service window for public information requests.
