County has 90 active COVID-19 confirmed cases

(Editor's note: The orinigal version of this story listed incorrect percentages on COVID-19 related percentages. This story has been updated with the correctd percentages.)

Gonzales County reported 36 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of Wednesday, Aug. 11 through Tuesday, Aug. 17. The total is up slightly – by three – from the 33 new cases reported the previous week, according to numbers posted by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

One death was also reported, bringing the county’s total to 60 for the duration of the pandemic.

Based on confirmed cases (2,533) and deaths (60), the fatality rate attributed to COVID-19 in the county is 2.4%.

The DSHS estimates there are now 90 active cases in the county, the highest total since 101 on Feb. 10.

There were four days – including three days in a row – in which no new cases were reported, while 10 cases were confirmed on Aug. 11, 14 on Aug. 13 and 12 on Aug. 17.

Statewide, for the duration of the pandemic, the DSHS is reporting 2,834,082 confirmed  cases during the pandemic, with 53,196 deaths – a fatality rate of 1.9%.

Testing

On July 21, the Centers for Disease Control issued a Laboratory Alert stating that it was withdrawing a request to the FDA to use the PCR test for COVID-19, effective on Dec. 31. The PCR test has been widely used for COVID-19 testing since February. The CDC is seeking a better way to differentiate between the COVID-19 and the flu as the country heads into the October flu season.

The CDC wrote:

“In preparation for this change, CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season. Laboratories and testing sites should validate and verify their selected assay within their facility before beginning clinical testing.”

According to Holly Danz, director of marketing at GHC, the hospital is using the PCR test a present.

Hospitalizations

Danz said that the hospital’s Intensive Case Unit was full last week. Various state tracking sources show Gonzales’ ICU with four to six COVID-19 cases.

Gonzales County is part of Trauma Service Area P, which is centered around San Antonio. Specific county numbers are not reported by the DSHS. For the service area, 1,345 COVID-19 hospitalizations were reported for the week ending Aug. 16, an increase of 77 from the previous week. COVID-19 cases have accounted for about 20% of all hospitalizations over that time.

Amid an increase in confirmed cases and with the reported spread of the Delta variant, GHC recently implemented addition safety measures, including the resumption of temperature and symptom screening of all people entering its buildings, requiring face masks be worn by all patients, visitors and guests, and social distancing of 6-feet.

The hospital is also limiting one care partner or adult to accompany anyone seeking treatment. Anyone who is currently COVID-19 positive will not be allowed visitors.

Visiting hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors are asked to enter through the outpatient entrance between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and through the Emergency department during other hours.

Other counties

Numbers from surrounding counties show an increase in active cases over the same period of time, but several has smaller increases than in the previous week.

Active cases in neighboring counties are: Caldwell, 471 (up 14); Guadalupe, 1,042 (up 229); Bastrop, 948 (up 128); Fayette, 185 (down 12); Lavaca, 88 (up 22); DeWitt, 48 (up 3); Karnes, 274 (up 106); and Wilson, 332 (up 49).

Statewide, 13,935 new cases were reported as of Aug. 10, an increase of 2,161 over last week, but less than the 5,203 new cases reported the previous week. Deaths increased 33 from the prior week with 84 reported.

COVID-19-related hospitalizations are broken down by county. Gonzales County is part of Trauma Service Area P, which is centered around San Antonio. For Aug. 9, 1,141 lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations were reported, up 351 from Aug. 2. Of the 1,141 cases, 335 were in Intensive Care Units (ICU). The total represents 17.83% use of available COVID-19 capacity in Area P. Confirmed cases with COVID-19 accounted for 21.59% of all hospitalizations in Area P as of Aug. 9.

Schools

With schools opening across Gonzales County, the districts have updated their safety measures. Mask mandates are not allowed under order of Gov. Greg Abbott. The full policies for each district are available on their respective websites: www.gonzalesisd.net, www.nixonsmiley.net, www.waelderisd.org.

Vaccination rates

Vaccination rates for Gonzales County show 71.28% of residents age 65 and over have been fully vaccinated, while 44.04% of people between the ages of 12 and 64 have received both shots. Statewide, 75.45% of people age 65 and over are fully vaccinated, while the 12 to 64 age group comes in at 53.63%.