Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell informed the commissioners court April 7 that the county predicts it will see 100,000 confirmed cases during the course of the coronavirus pandemic with deaths in the hundreds, according to county projection models.
Gravell said the county approximates nearly 5,000 will be hospitalized, 787 will be placed in the Intensive Care Unit and 500 will be placed on a ventilator.
The course of the pandemic is March 1-Aug. 17, officials said.
He added that current projections believe a dramatic climb in cases will begin around April 14 and peak between mid-May and early June.
“We believe that we really haven’t started the climb for the number of confirmed cases,” he said.
Gravell said the projections were provided by The University of Texas at Austin but added that the Williamson County Emergency Services Operations Center is tracking numbers slightly higher than the those provided by the university. However, the model is "pretty close" to what is being seen on the ground, he said.
As of April 7, Williamson County reported four coronavirus-related deaths with 87 confirmed cases.
On March 31, Gov. Greg Abbott extended school closures through May 4. As of April 7, Williamson County had only issued a "Stay Home Stay Safe" order through April 13, but Gravell has said he suspects that will be extended.
