Changes In State Reporting Show Additional COVID-Related Fatalities For Hays County

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – Due to a new reporting system recently implemented at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), today’s update from the Hays County Local Health Department (HCLHD) will contain 22 additional COVID-related fatalities.

The new cases are a result of enhanced reporting protocols from hospitals, funeral homes, and nursing facilities.

Almost all the residents were known to have been diagnosed with COVID-19, however, the Hays County Local Health Department WAS NOT properly notified of their passing. 

Moving forward, this change will allow the HCLHD to report numbers that are consistent with state data.

“The change is another enhancement in the state’s reporting system,” said Health Department Director Tammy Crumley. “We’ve seen continual improvement over the course of the pandemic in terms of reporting and data coding.”

Based on the HCLHD internal review, the data will now also show one less fatality for Mountain City.

According to Kim Hilsenbeck, Hays County Communications Director, the Texas Public Health Department has been making changes regularly to improve the way COVID-19 data is recorded and reported. 

Officials said the additional fatalities do not represent a new spike of the virus in the community.

Crumley said the health department will continue to be transparent with any new information and utilize all available resources to accurately report the information provided to the department.