County looks past testing to contract tracing, economy

Testing for the COVID-19 virus – what tests should be used and who should get them – returned to the forefront of discussion at Tuesday’s meeting of the Hays County Commissioners Court.

But commissioners and County Judge Ruben Becerra also widened the discussion to include how and when the county’s economy should be “reopened,” how the virus has affected property values and how the impacts might carry over into budgeting for the FY 2021 Fiscal Year.

Concerning testing, the court amended an existing agreement with Clinical Pathology Laboratories to include COVID-19 testing and also approved agreements with Premier ER & Urgent Care and Live Oak Health Partners to provide molecular testing, which is the primary novel coronavirus.