Just how many Hays County residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19 has been questioned in recent months by State Rep. Erin Zwiener and now it appears that a computer glitch might have been the problem.
The numbers posted by the county during its regular weekday updates have been at odds with those kept by some hospitals. On Thursday, the county issued a press release saying the mystery has been resolved.
The release cited an internal computer glitch at a regional hospital system that has increased the number of reported hospitalizations by 161. Zwiener said she believes the facility in question is Ascension Seton in Kyle.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, numbers reported by Hays County Local Health Department have reflected what is received from various sources including medical providers, hospitals, laboratories and other entities regarding new cases, active cases, recoveries, hospitalizations and fatalities.
Zwiener has been questioning the reported numbers for many weeks, saying that she had a source within Ascension Seton Hays stating that the numbers reported were off.
As of Sept. 24, Hays County has had 341 total hospitalizations, not the 160 as previously reported. The number of deaths and current hospitalizations is correct.
The county reports that an internal audit found the problem within the medical system. Of those, 22 people were hospitalized as of Sept. 24.
Also on Sept. 24, the county had experienced 54 fatalities, 5,832 laboratory-confirmed cases and 4,302 recoveries. Listed as active were 1,577 cases.
More information will be reported here as it is received.
