Officials said March 18 there are five lab-confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Hays County. According to a release from the county, four of the patients had traveled days before their symptoms began, while one of the newest patient did not have any travel history before becoming ill and did not knowingly come into contact with any other person with a confirmed case. The release said it is the first believed case of community spreading in Hays County.

School visitor has coronavirus

School officials at Hays CISD sent a notice to parents of students, teachers and staff of Tobias Elementary School that a visitor on March 11 has since tested positive for the coronavirus.

District spokesperson Tim Savoy said the person who had contact with the school is home in self-quarantine with his family and recovering.

“Given the spread of the virus and interconnectivity of our community, we have expected that there would eventually be a connection between one or more of our campuses to the coronavirus,” Savoy said in an email to staff. “We anticipate that future cases of people who test positive will also likely have some connection to our schools.”

The district, along with San Marcos CISD, has suspended school operations through April 5.

Tobias Elementary School is closed to all personnel to allow time for any virus in the building to die on its own, the release said. It will be disinfected before entry is allowed.