One week of school down and 67 COVID-19 positive cases in the Kerrville Independent School District.
The first week of school proved to be a super spreader event, according to data released by the school district on Friday. Tivy High School had 17 cases, while Tally Elementary had 13. The school district did not differentiate between staff and students.
Each of the district's nine campuses had at least one case. At the end of the 2021 school year, KISD had 163 students test positive and 78 staff members. The district is on a pace to top that number in a month.
The KISD numbers also indicate a much higher rate of infection across Kerr County. Peterson Health only reports numbers tested through its network — 122 this week.
While KISD informed parents about its COVID-19 hassles, Peterson Regional Medical Center reported 30 patients admitted with COVID-19. Across the state, there are more than 12,800 people hospitalized.
On Peterson's website, it noted a death of a Kerr County resident, but that was a death reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services. On Thursday, Kerr County Emergency Services Coordinator Dub Thomas acknowledged that the DSHS numbers were wrong on its website.
"As for fatalities caused by COVID-19, the Texas DSHS online "Dashboard" still reports Kerr County steady at 96 deaths since the pandemic began in 2020, but that number is actually incorrect, according to Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator William B. "Dub" Thomas," the county said in a press release. "Thomas said the DSHS statistic will soon reflect an increase, because he was notified directly this week of a few other recent COVID-19 deaths by Peterson Regional Medical Center."
The Lead searched DSHS' online spreadsheet, finding that it appears DSHS has confirmed a Peterson Regional Medical Center COVID-19 death since at least late November.
DSHS' website confirmed what it said was the 97th death on Aug. 12, but Peterson said it wasn't one of their patients.
On Thursday, Peterson said 26 people tested positive for COVID-19, driving Kerr County's positive cases to 358 in August.
 |
 |
 |
