WilCo Gains 548 New Coronavirus Cases, With 214 Cumulative Deaths

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Williamson County health district officials reported 548 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday — representing the second-highest single-day count since the pandemic began.

The data are found on a statistical dashboard maintained by the Williamson County and Cities Health District. Since the start of the pandemic, the cumulative number of confirmed illness cases in the county is 22,436 while the number of fatalities so far is 214.

Health district officials on Tuesday also reported an increase in hospitalizations to 153 patients — 20 more than the previous day. Of those hospitalized, 57 patients are being treated at intensive care units with 31 others placed on ventilators to help them breathe.

Testing information and locations

Amid illness spikes, hospital resources continue to dwindle. The health district reported a 12 percent availability of hospital beds, a mere 7 percent availability in intensive care unit beds and 57 percent of ventilators.

Health district official provide a breakdown of illness levels per city encompassed by the county boundaries. The cumulative illness totals include both confirmed and probable cases:

• Round Rock: 6,132.
• Georgetown: 4,652.
• Cedar Park: 2,236.
• Leander: 1,689.
• Hutto: 1,600.

Health district officials also reported another 3,032 cases reported under the category of "other," which includes smaller municipalities with less than 20,000 population. Given such sparse populations — and the increased likelihood that reporting cities of origin could yield identifiers running afoul of patient confidentiality clauses — health officials are not compelled to name the affected cities.

The dashboard also lists the number of cases reported so far for the sliver of Austin within the county's jurisdiction, which is placed at 1,670.

Related story: Texas Gains 26,543 More Coronavirus Cases, 250 New Deaths

The cities with the highest number of deaths since the pandemic began are:

• Round Rock: 88.
• Georgetown: 44.
• Cedar Park: 32.
• Other: 36.
• Not specified: 14.

Williamson County has been under the highest advisory — the red-shaded Stage 5 alert level signifying uncontrolled community illness spread — since mid-November. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Williamson County has had the 15th highest number of confirmed cases among the state's 254 cases and the 24th highest number of deaths — sandwiched between Galveston and Taylor counties.

Given upward illness trends, health district officials have taken to ask residents who may have traveled outside their households over the holidays to self-quarantine for seven days — even if they had a negative reading for the illness. Those testing positive are asked to self-isolate for 10 days.

Screenshot of Williamson County and Cities Health District dashboard from Jan. 5, 2021.