Coronavirus: 1 More WilCo Death As Illness Count Tops 600

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Another death of the coronavirus was reported in Williamson County on Friday, bringing the fatality count so far to 24. The illness count rose to 605 over a 24-hour period, an increase of nine cases.

The latest resident to die from the respiratory illness was a man in his 60s, according to Williamson County and Cities Health District officials. Privacy protection guidelines preclude health officials from providing additional patient details.

“While some people are looking forward to the weekend ahead, others are mourning the unforeseen loss of a loved one due to COVID-19," Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell said in a prepared statement. "Now is the time when we should all rally behind those who have been impacted by this deadly virus."

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The report of a fatality is the second time in as many days that a person has succumbed of the respiratory illness and the third death this week in the county. On Thursday, health officials reported a man in his 70s had died of the illness. The week yielded a grim bookend, with the death of a woman in her 80s succumbing to the respiratory illness on Monday.

Gravell urged residents to take precautions as they venture outdoors to help blunt the spread of illness: "When you think about making plans with your loved ones, please take into consideration that your actions could result in further spread of COVID-19 if you are not careful. Let’s love those that are most vulnerable from a distance for now and continue following the safety guidelines.”

Elevated rates of illness come against a backdrop of expanded business reopening across the state as Gov. Greg Abbott seeks to reignite an economy stalled by virus-spurred closures. This week, water parks were added to the list of business set to reopen to the public on Friday. Hours after the governor announced the new round of openings, Typhoon Texas officials announced they would be open on Friday at limited occupancy levels.

As part of the latest round of openings, Abbott also directed operators of food courts within shopping malls to restart and allowed for sports programs to resume.

Related stories:

• Coronavirus: WilCo Illness Count Nears 600, 1 New Death
• Coronavirus: WilCo Illness Count Grows To 565, 1 More Death
• Coronavirus: WilCo Ramps Up County Reopening Plan
• Typhoon Texas Slated To Open For Summer Season
• Texas To Reopen Water Parks, Food Courts, More
• Coronavirus: Abbott To Let More Businesses Reopen Friday
• Texas Governor Allows Malls, Restaurants, More To Open By May 1
• Coronavirus: Texas Illness Count Exceeds 57K, 26 More Deaths

By gubernatorial proclamation, Abbott last month launched a multi-phased state economy reopening by first allowing operators of restaurants, malls and movie theaters to open their doors to the public again, albeit at limited occupancy levels, starting May 1.

View Texans Helping Texans: The Governor's Report to Open Texas.

Restaurant operators initially were allowed to reopen at 25 percent occupancy, a level later upped to 50 percent. In the next round of reopening, barbershops, nail salons, tanning booths, bowling alleys, bingo halls and other business were allowed to reopen.

Williamson County officials also have launched the gradual reopening of their offices, issuing a timeline into a phased reopening this week.

Williamson County health officials post the latest regional statistics related to coronavirus on a dashboard found here: www.wcchd.org/COVID-19/dashboard.php. Patch reached out to Williamson County and Cities Health District spokesperson Deb Strahler on Wednesday after noticing the dashboard had not been updated by midday, as is customary for the county. Patch learned the site now will be updated by around 4:30 each day "...to report the end of the day activity vs. prior day activity mid-day," Strahler wrote in an email.

Residents exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness such as cough, fever, and shortness of breath, are highly urged to contact their health care providers. Health officials stress the importance of calling ahead before arriving at a clinic, urgent care, or emergency department to avoid potential spread of illness.

For information on the county response to COVID-19, go to www.wilco.org/COVID-19.