WilCo Reports 98 New Coronavirus Cases, 2 New Deaths

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Health district officials reported 98 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, bringing the cumulative total to 11,935. Two more county residents died of the illness, bringing the fatality count to 162.

The data is input into a statistical dashboard maintained by the Williamson County and Cities Health District following a two-day stretch of no new added data on Saturday or Sunday. The latest update indicates a growth of 376 new cases of the respiratory illness since Friday, when the cumulative case count stood at 11,559. The historic fatality count on Friday was 160.

The illness spike comes days after county health officials moved the region to critical red status, the highest alert level indicating uncontrolled community spread of the virus. The bolstered levels put the county among the top 20 in in the state with the greatest number of cases, as seen on a state dashboard maintained by the Texas Department of State Health Services where WilCo is listed 19th.

The transpired two-day stretch of no new data input into the dashboard will be followed by a five-day dormant period for the portal given the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Health district officials placed a note prominently into the dashboard on Monday alerting the offices would close from Wednesday through Sunday (Nov. 29) to observe the holiday.

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Despite the red level status under which the county finds itself, Wiliamson County Judge Bill Gravell has said he has no plans of issuing a shutdown order in deferring to the governor's similar stance. Even as Williamson County health district officials moved the region to the critical red level, Gravell issued a separate statement reminding residents of the voluntary nature of the heightened alert recommendations: "The guidelines are suggested for planning, but are not requirements," he wrote. "Local guidance may be superseded by an executive order from Governor Abbott."

Gravell downplayed the significance of the red level, positing the highest-tiered alert as mere reminder for residents to exercise safety tactics: "The increasing transmission rate and movement into the WCCHD [Williamson County and Cities Health District] red phase is a great opportunity to remind people during this Thanksgiving season to wear a mask, wash hands frequently, and keep six feet of distance from others not in your household,"he wrote. "While the number of cases has increased, other indicators, such as the hospitalization rate for our region, are below Governor Abbott's threshold for adopting more stringent guidelines under Executive Order GA-32. Personal protective measures are the best way to keep ourselves and those we care about safe."

During a Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, the president and CEO of the regional blood bank named We Are Blood, Marshall Cothran, made a presentation on the convalescent plasma program as it relates to coronavirus patients. Gravell interrupted the blood bank official as he began to discuss rising hospitalization rates due to coronavirus impacting Williamson County.

"You know, Marshall, let me say this: I don't want you to get into that because I don't agree with you on that. Let's just stick to the convalescent plasma discussion." The exchange can be seen at the 12:25 mark of the archived recording of the Williamson County Commissioners Court meeting.

Yet the data input by the county health district contradict Gravell's assertion. On Friday, the dashboard shows, 18 patients were being treated at intensive care units. Of the 63 total hospitalizations recorded on Sunday, the number of ICU patients had grown to 23, according to the data. There were 40 non-ICU patients on Sunday, according to the dashboard, down from 41 the previous day.

The number of non-ICU patients last Sunday (Nov. 15) was 22 — representing a jump of 18 in one week's time — as shown on the county dashboard. There were 21 patients being treated at intensive care units one week from this past Sunday, the latest figures available on the dashboard.

Hospitalization rates for Monday were unavailable.

Meanwhile, hospital bed stock continues to dwindle. According to the dashboard 25 percent of hospital beds currently are available for use with just 10 percent of intensive care unit beds open for patients.

In April, Gravell was caught violating his own since-suspended shelter-in-place order when he was photographed arriving at a grandson's birthday party while donning firefighter gear borrowed from an area fire department. The social outing was in violation of a Williamson County stay-at-home order Gravell personally signed in late March that have since been extended to April 30, compelling residents to stay indoors amid the spread of COVID-19.

To further compel residents' adherence to the order, punitive measures aimed at violators were attached — a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail, according to the order. The move was prompted as a way of blunting the spread of respiratory illness.

According to the newly updated county dashboard, Round Rock has experienced the highest level of cumulative coronavirus cases with 3,238. The county seat of Georgetown comes in second, with 2,043 cases of the respiratory illness since the onset of disease. Cedar Park, Hutto and Leander round out the top five list, with a respective 989, 746 and 666 cumulative cases.

The portion of Austin that lies within the county's jurisdiction also is tallied, with 698 more cases emerging from that region. In the rest of the county — in a category titled "other" that signifies communities with less than 20,000 population — 418 more cases have emerged since the start of the pandemic, as shown on the dashboard. Health district officials previously told Patch they are not legally compelled to identify the cities in the "other" category given their small populations.

For the full range of coronavirus data in Williamson County, click here.