Hays County Health Officials Talk Data, Holidays

On Wednesday, Hays County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider and Data Analyst Hayden Matz held a brief zoom meeting to provide an update on COVID-19 in the area.

During the meeting, Matz explained the data changes following internal audits by the local health department.

Hays County removed 200 cases from its active case count in October following an internal review.

“We were holding onto some cases on our report that weren’t actually ours or were transferred off or were duplicates,” Matz said. “However, the main reason those cases were added in the first place, and are still occurring, it can be from a person getting a COVID test at two different clinics, and their name being entered differently.”

Matz said the system’s internal audit doesn’t catch duplicate cases caused by typos, which is why the county has begun performing more in-depth audits every Friday; in other cases, clinics are reporting cases for individuals who had their tests performed in Hays County but live elsewhere.

The cases not belonging to Hays County are removed from local numbers and transferred to the correct jurisdiction.

“There are many different ways cases can be incorrectly added to our list,” Matz said. “It’s not one person’s fault; it’s a variety of issues going from incorrect jurisdictions to just a typo.”

Kim Hilsenbeck, Hays County Communications Director, noted the county is relying on data for a multitude of sources.

Hays County saw its highest number of hospitalizations in a single day Tuesday with seven patients being admitted.

According to Schneider, the county currently has a total of ten hospitalized patients; local hospitals have transferred four of those patients to facilities in other counties who are better equipped to handle treatment.  

Schneider noted the upcoming holidays bring concerns for officials with Hays County’s numbers already returning to what the county was seeing in May.  

Hays County continues to provide free COVID-19 testing through its partnership with Curative.

Curative has set up mobile testing sites throughout Hays County. These are free and open to the public. Insurance is not required.

See the info below for details:

Kyle

Daily from 9 AM to 5 PM

Hays CISD PAC, 979 Kohlers Crossing, Kyle, TX

San Marcos

Daily from 8 AM to 5 PM (New Hours!)

San Marcos Premium Outlets between Lululemon and Pottery Barn

3939 S. I-35 San Marcos, TX

Dripping Springs

Friday through Monday from 9 AM to 5 PM

The Triangle, 151 Mercer St., Dripping Springs, TX

Wimberley

Tuesday through Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM

Wimberley Community Center, 14068 RR 12, Wimberley, TX

Buda

Daily from 9 AM to 5 PM

Parking lot at Main St. & China St., Buda (next to public restrooms, catty-corner from Main St. Dental)

Schneider said Curative is currently testing 500 people per day on average.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised the public that children under the age of 10 should begin wearing masks as well.  

“We need people to understand that we are still in the middle of a pandemic,” Schneider said. “This is all of us working together to ensure we don’t have to go into quarantine or lockdown again. We are not here to try and shut down businesses, shut down schools.”