COVID-19 cases continue to decline locally

Kerr County officials released the most recent COVID-19 data which continues to show the latest pandemic surge is dissipating. According to Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas, “Our numbers are going in the right direction. We can’t give up our safety protocols, because they are helping. But we can at least breathe a sigh of relief that the numbers are not going up.”

As of Monday, November 1, Kerr County reports: 75 active COVID-19 cases; 6 patients currently receiving treatment for active COVID-19 at Peterson Regional Medical Center in Kerrville; 240 hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients across the 28-county region that includes Kerr County. ( This figure equates to 4% of the region’s hospital capacity.); 134 COVID-19 fatalities of permanent Kerr County residents. This number is an increase of 7 individuals whose death has been entered into the system over the past 2 weeks – since October 18.

The total number of eligible Kerr County residents who are now fully vaccinated is 23,291, which is 50.53% of the county’s population. As of Monday, November 1, TX DSHS confirms 53.09% of eligible Texans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Other statewide coronavirus statistics released on November 1 from TX DSHS: 3,380 hospitalizations; 4,046,382 recoveries; 107,145 active cases; 70,000 deaths.

In other COVID-19 news related to the Lone Star State, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Friday against the Biden administration over an executive order that mandates vaccines for federal contractors, condemning the directive as “a dramatic infringement upon individual liberties, principles of federalism and separation of powers, and the rule of law.”

The lawsuit seeks to stop enforcement of the mandate, which was announced in September. Under the order, companies that contract with the federal government must require their employees get vaccinated by December 8. Paxton’s lawsuit targets only the mandate for contractors.

Paxton’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, describes the mandate as an illegal overreach and says it will exacerbate worker shortages and potentially cause Texas to lose out on billions in federal contracts. A coalition of 10 other states jointly filed a separate lawsuit over the contractor mandate on Friday.

There has not been an official response to the lawsuits. More than 190 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the most recent data.