On Dec. 21, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra announced on social media he and his family received positive COVID-19 test results earlier the same day.

After receiving notice of a possible exposure to the virus, he was tested at a Curative COVID-19 test site, according to a press release from Becerra's office posted to his Facebook.

"Even with all the precautions we take, sometimes exposure is still possible through those in our immediate family," Becerra said in the release.

The county judge was not experiencing symptoms Monday afternoon and planned to attend the Dec. 22 Hays County Commissioners Court remotely, and intended to continue to perform his duties as the county's highest elected official.

"I am doing well and will be following [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines and quarantining," he said in the release.


According to Becerra's social media post, he lives in a multifamily and multi-generational household. The post added that although his entire family tested positive, they were doing well at home.

"I'm posting about this immediately because I want to remind everyone this virus is extremely contagious," Becerra's post read. "I know I'm asking a lot, but please consider gathering with your extended family remotely this holiday season."

During an interview Dec. 16, Becerra said he was working closely with the leadership of Ascension Seton Hays Hospital on an event to demonstrate the COVID-19 vaccine's availability and safety.

He also discussed the possibility of taking the vaccine as part of the demonstration, but said he was hesitant to take it before health care workers were served.


"Well that's a possibility, but I just don't want to take it from someone that's in a higher need than I am, but if I would need to do it to build confidence—I would—but that would be the reason for it," Becerra said Dec. 16 about the possibility of taking the coronavirus vaccine in one of its first distributions to local hospitals.