Audit removes 14 COVID-19 cases, totals still rise

As part of the Hays County Local Health Department’s (HCLHD) continuous audit of COVID-19 data, the epidemiology team identified cases that will be removed from the county’s total case count. The first set removed was 14 on Friday; however, the total new active cases added to the list still caused the overall numbers to rise.

“After the most recent internal data review, we found cases that shouldn’t be in our total number of positive COVID-19 cases,” said epidemiologist Eric Schneider. “We will remove them from the data totals, thereby reducing our overall case count.”

He said addresses outside Hays County, invalid test results and duplication of a previously counted case are among the reasons for removal.

HCLHD Director Tammy Crumley said she understands the rationale for purging those types of cases.

“The removal of cases that don’t belong to Hays County, are invalid tests or prove to be duplicates will allow the us to continue providing the most accurate numbers to the public,” she said.

Schneider said the epidemiology team will continue the process of reviewing cases and each Friday they will remove any incorrect cases from the cumulative total. That number of removed cases will be shown in each Friday’s COVID-19 update.

As of Monday, November 16, Hays County had 6,720 lab-confirmed cases, 130 of which were in the Wimberley Valley. Of those, 726 were considered active in the last 21 days. There are 15 active cases in the Wimberley Valley, one of which is within the city limits of Woodcreek.