For nine days, the Williamson County positivity rate, or the rate at which coronavirus tests return positive, hovered in and around 8%, but the county saw its rate increase Aug. 18.

The current seven-day rolling positivity rate was reported at 9.93% as of Aug. 18. Between Aug. 9-17, the rate dipped as low at 7.9% and remained in the low 8% range over the nine days, showing signs of hope that the spread of the coronavirus was leveling out.

Nonetheless, the rate still remains lower than the county’s peak in late June and early July, data shows. The highest rate so far was reported at 33.3% on June 28.

The Williamson County and Cities Health District also reported 99 new coronavirus cases Aug. 18, bringing the total to 7,581.

To date, 71 patients are hospitalized, 28 are in intensive care and 15 are on a ventilator. The WCCHD also reported 22% of hospital beds, 20% of ICU beds and 79% of ventilators are available.


The county reported two additional deaths Aug. 18. The total is now 105.

On July 29, the county announced the Texas Department of State Health Services is now using death certificates instead of local health district reports to count COVID-19 fatalities. According to the county, this standardizes death reporting across the state, but it does leave a lag, as death certificates can take up to three months to be issued.

Of the total cases reported, 6,712 have recovered, or 88.53%, and there are an estimated 766 active cases.

Recoveries are not reported to the state’s contact tracing and data system; therefore, recovery information is not absolute and is to be used for estimating purposes only, according to the WCCHD website. No trends or other inferences should be drawn from this data, as the numbers posted represent a point-in-time snapshot and may fluctuate throughout the day, it said.


Here is an update on total cases in the cities of residence including probable cases, according to the WCCHD.
  • Austin: 479
  • Cedar Park: 789
  • Georgetown: 1,284
  • Hutto: 518
  • Leander: 404
  • Round Rock: 2,361
  • Other: 911
If the WCCHD is unable to confirm the city of residence after three attempts, the case is deemed “lost to follow-up” and is not included in the above count, officials said.

Officials said the county is not legally able to release the specific counts in cities with fewer than 20,000 residents. For more information, such as gender and age breakdowns, visit the county's dashboard.