Hill Country COVID-19 statistics continue to reflect statewide coronavirus case counts

Kerr County continues to see fewer COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations which reflects the most recent Texas Department of State Health Services statistics as the recent omicron surge declines in numbers. On Wednesday, February 23, Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas confirmed: 36 active cases within the county; 7 patients hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 in Peterson Regional Medical Center and 172 fatalities of permanent, Kerr County residents due to the virus.

Gillespie County officials reported that as of February 24: 4 patients hospitalized in Hill Country Memorial Hospital due to the coronavirus; 0 students and/or staff are currently diagnosed with the virus and the county’s overall COVID-19 death toll stands at 103 since the pandemic began.

On Wednesday, Fredericksburg Mayor Charlie Kiehne terminated the Mayoral Declaration of Disaster which has been in place for almost two years. According to Gillespie County Emergency Management Coordinator Justin Calhoun, “the declaration had minimal impact on him and his staff’s day-to-day operations.” This order does not preclude local businesses or organizations from requiring its employees or customers to follow additional hygiene measures, such as wearing facial coverings.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to announce new metrics to guide COVID-19 restrictions such as mask-wearing as early as Friday or in the early part of next week, according to senior federal officials. The CDC currently says that people who live in counties with substantial or high levels of COVID-19 transmission should wear masks. Officials say that the agency will not be changing that guidance but will be changing the way it assesses “community levels of disease.” Guidance about different mitigation measures, such as masking and social distancing, will be based on the levels of disease in an individual county.