Williamson County Reports 203 New Coronavirus Cases, 1 More Death

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Health district officials reported 203 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday and an additional death one day after raising its illness alert level to the highest, red-coded tier signifying uncontrolled community spread of respiratory illness.

The data were input in a statistical dashboard maintained by the Williamson County and Cities Health District. The 200-plus new cases brings the cumulative number of illness to 11,559, according to the dashboard data. The additional death brings the cumulative fatality count to 160 since the onset of illness, as the dashboard shows.

And yet, the toll is greater than what was recorded on Friday. On its Facebook page, Williamson County and Cities Health District officials said another 43 cases confirmed between July and October not previously reported were discovered during a recent "...quality assurance check of data import systems."

The unreported cases came from a glitch in the Texas Health Trace (THT) system used by the health district, officials said. The county health district "...will continue to work with THT representatives to correct this issue moving forward," officials wrote. The unreported batch of cases will be dispersed by the actual dates reported to the health district on the dashboard and daily report graphs, officials said, adding that the 43 cases are not included among the 203 cases reported on Friday.

The miscount is the second for the county in just over a week. On Nov. 11, health district officials acknowledged a miscount of 1,400 cases after a quality assurance check of data import systems. As a result, health district officials retroactively identified about 600 confirmed and 800 probable cases from July and October that were "...unintentionally excluded in reporting" for Williamson County, officials said.

Related stories:

• WilCo Adds 1,400 Coronavirus Cases After Data Glitch Identified
• WilCo Raises Coronavirus Alert Level To Critical 'Red' Status
• WilCo Reports 96 New Coronavirus Cases, 1 Additional Death
• Austin Moves To Stage 4 Coronavirus Alert Level
• Austin 'Spread Joy, Not Germs' Quiz Helps Ensure Safe Holidays
• WilCo Judge Won't Issue Stay-At-Home Order Amid Illness Spikes
• Texas Reports Record 10,826 New Coronavirus Cases, 117 New Deaths
• WilCo Judge Under Fire For Violating Own Stay-At-Home Order

Also, on the health district dashboard, the county reported that 154,425 tests have been conducted for the coronavirus. The number represents more than 26 percent of the county population, but it's unclear if the number includes multiple tests taken by individual residents, particularly essential workers that sometimes have to be tested on a regular basis.

The rolling seven-day average positivity rate in the county is now 5.68 percent — exceeding the 5 percent mark triggering the categorization as "hotspot" by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Despite the upward illness trends, Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell has resisting issuing a shelter-in-place order, deferring to protocol outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott that excludes the measure.

"The Williamson County and Cities Health District makes recommendations based on the COVID-19 transmission rate to help residents understand the risks," Gravell said in a prepared statement on Wednesday after nearly 100 new coronavirus cases emerged. "The guidelines are suggested for planning, but are not requirements. Local guidance may be superseded by an executive order from Governor Abbott."

After the county entered the highest preparedness level coded in red, Gravell downplayed the risk alert as a tool to "remind" residents to take safety precautions. While acknowledging the growing number of regional respiratory illness cases, he said other metrics are well below the thresholds that would trigger further safeguards.

“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," Gravell said in a prepared statement. "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.”