Kerr County’s COVID-19 cases beginning to spike again

New active cases of COVID-19 in Kerr County, as well as hospitalizations of pandemic patients, have taken a sharp upturn over the course of last week, according to Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator Dub Thomas. As of Monday, January 10, the Texas Department of State Health Services is confirming 281 new active cases, a jump of 139 people from exactly one week ago.

Thomas says that state public health officials are estimating that 98% of current cases are due to the Omicron strain and 2% are caused by the Delta strain. “Like the CDC says, the recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters,” said Thomas.

Other Kerr County COVID-19 updates released January 10: 7,173 recoveries; 21 hospitalizations of patients currently receiving treatment for active COVID-19 at PRMC; 873 hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients across the 28-county region that includes Kerr County; 143 fatalities of permanent Kerr County residents due to COVID-19 (an increase of one death since last week); 24,354 people (48.63%) of Kerr County’s population over 5 years of age are fully vaccinated.

Peterson Health is providing COVID-19 testing at the Kerrville Medical Plaza, Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. by appointment only for community members over the age of two years. Anyone wanting additional information regarding registration can call (830) 258-7373, option 2. Individuals can also schedule appointments by visiting www.petersonhealth.com.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Texas have now climbed above 10,000 for the first time since September 24, according to the TX DSHS, with the official number being 10,417. As of January 10, TX DSHS confirms 604,544 active cases and 75, 287 COVID-19 fatalities since the pandemic began. The number of eligible Texans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 stands at 57.01%.