WilCo Coronavirus Death Count Reaches 94, 4 New Deaths

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Four more county residents died of the coronavirus over the weekend, raising the historical fatality count to 94. Also, 49 new cases of the respiratory emerged to raise the number of cases reported so far to 5,246.

According to a statistical dashboard maintained by Williamson County and Cities Health District officials, the number of estimated active cases of the illness in the county is 854. There are 115 patients currently hospitalized, including 38 at intensive care units and 20 placed on ventilators.

While the number of new cases has seen a downward trend in terms of the volume reported, hospital resources to treat those already sick have dwindled. According to the data, the availability of hospital beds in the county is at 25 percent with a mere 5 percent of ICU beds available. Ventilators are more plentiful with a 66 percent availability rate.

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in the Austin area. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

County health officials reported an estimated 4,300 recoveries, but now add a disclaimer to those numbers: "Recoveries are not a reportable condition to Public Health, therefore, recovery data are not absolute and are to be used for estimating purposes only. No trends or other inferences should be drawn from these data. The numbers posted represent a point-in-time snapshot and may fluctuate throughout the day. Deaths and recovered are included in the total positive cases. Hospital capacity data are only representative of the hospitals that have reported in the last 24 hours. These data are provisional and are subject to change at any time."

Related story: WilCo To Stop Announcing Coronavirus Deaths As Count Reaches 90

The latest numbers come after after Williamson County officials said last week they would no longer issue news releases alerting to deaths once they are reported to health officials. The end of that practice — and, presumably, words of condolence offered by Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell whenever deaths emerged — was to come Aug. 1.

By Sunday afternoon, county officials issued a press release on the latest deaths with the attendant words of comfort from Gravell. The latest to die of the respiratory illness were a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s on Saturday, followed by two men — one in his 60s, the other in his 90s — on Sunday.

“My heart and prayers go out to the families who are suffering the loss of their loved one this weekend," Gravell said in a prepared statement. "As we start a new week, let's all take time during the upcoming days to reach out to a family member, friend or neighbor. Now is the time to remind each other that we are not going through this difficult time alone and to offer one other support and comfort.”

In the same missive containing Gravell's condolences, county officials repeated their plans to stop issuing news releases detailing deaths: "Effective Aug. 1, Williamson County will no longer send out media releases when a COVID-19 related death occurs. This information is available on the Williamson County and Cities Health District dashboard at http://www.wcchd.org/COVID-19/dashboard.php."

Williamson County and Cities Health District officials reminded residents of updates emailed from Monday to Friday to those subscribing to receive the notices.

Reaction to the county's imminent ending of death alerts has been mixed on Patch comment threads. While some see the lack of separate news releases as a reprieve from "negative" news, others expressed support of the added transparency amid their tight-knit community from where residents often boast is distinctly differentiated from the big, nearby city of Austin.

A Williamson County and Cities Health District screenshot shows the upward curve of illness across the county historically even as new cases continue to drop.