Hays County has worked out some glitches in reporting of positive cases of COVID-19 and is pursuing supplies to fill current shortages even as plans are being made for the eventuality that local hospitals will be pushed past their capacity.
Currently, though, the seven county residents who have been hospitalized because of
the novel coronavirus have been transferred to larger facilities in Austin and San Antonio. Three remained hospitalized as of Tuesday morning.
Epidemiologist Eric Schneider gave the rundown of numbers as of 9 a.m. Tuesday including that only 8 of the 61 confirmed cases had a history of travel before developing symptoms, confirming increasing community spread. There have been no deaths of county residents due to the disease. Schneider said a total of 455 Hays residents have undergone the test and 394 of them tested negative.
As more county residents are tested, the number of positives will continue to rise, County Judge Ruben Becerra warned, predicting that more than 50 percent of the county’s population will end up catching the virus. Although 20 percent of that 50 percent are at risk for complications, “most of those people will breeze right through it,” he said. “We have every hope and expectation that they’re going to walk through this.”
Emergency Management Coordinator Alex Villalobos confirmed shortages of personal protective equipment including N95 masks exist in municipalities and among Emergency Service District and Emergency Medical Service personnel, as well as in school districts which need it for employees who distribute food and technology to families.
Pct. 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said he had with him some N95 masks he would like to see go where they are most needed.
Pct. 4 Commissioner Walt Smith questioned Villalobos on equipment and supplies needed to disinfect facilities and vehicles, including the possible use of ultraviolet light, which Villalobos said would take a larger initial investment but would not need periodic fluid replacement, as do the machines the county currently uses for that function. Villalobos also said inventories of things such as hand soap and bleach are also being tracked.
Smith also said he has been working with businesses to supply Hays County first responders and patrol units with hand sanitizers “manufactured right here.” Last week the Hays Free Press ran a story on Driftwood-based Desert Door distillery, which has switched its manufacturing to hand sanitizers they say they will donate to law enforcement and health care providers.
Villalobos said he is continually attempting to secure those and other necessities but has been hampered by competition in the market. “They will say they have availability and within an hour somebody else will grab that quantity.” He asked for guidance but admitted, “that’s the process we’re currently in.”
With Texas State University switching to online learning for the rest of the semester, Villalobos contacted them about the possible use of the Student Recreation Center and/or gyms to house patients. “It could be three
or four months,” he said, “but we have a plan in place just to be prepared.”
Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe asked, and was assured, that members of the court would be given written updates on the spread of the virus and the community’s response.
Jones asked about when the county might expected local cases to peak. “The reason we are not able to answer that question about the apex is because less than one percent of our population has been tested,” Becerra said. “In order to give answers we need more data.”
Commissioners also discussed the availability of other county facilities, including, as Smith brought up, an urgent
care facility “now sitting empty” in downtown Dripping Springs.
Becerra said Dripping Springs’ mayor has already approached that facility’s ownership, and Villalobos added that clinics and even hotels have been approached or will soon be approached about the possibility of being used for overflow.
Schneider said that more than one member of some households have tested positive but others said that when one person is confirmed to have the virus, everyone in the household is “presumed” to as well.
Becerra announced test priority locations for first responders and healthcare providers – Austin Regional Clinic in Buda and Ascension Seton Hospital in Kyle. Becerra noted that testing there is for “in network,” meaning
people who work in the hospital or “have a relationship.”
Other testing locations include Live Oak Clinic in Wimberley, Austin Regional Clinic in Dripping Springs, and Live Oak Clinic in San Marcos. For the latest on conditions in the county, visit haysinformed.com. Official numbers are updated around 4 p.m. seven days a week.
