Williamson County adds 26 new cases of coronavirus, 3 deaths on Aug. 28

Williamson County reported 26 new coronavirus cases and three new deaths Aug. 28. The total number of cases is 7,893.

As of Aug. 28, 76 patients are hospitalized, 23 are in intensive care units and 15 are on a ventilator. The Williamson County and Cities Health District also reported 23% of hospital beds, 14% of ICU beds and 79% of ventilators are available.

With the three deaths, the total is 119.

Counted deaths are of those who have COVID-19 listed as a direct cause of death on the death certificate. A medical certifier, usually a doctor, determines the causes of death. The Texas Department of State Health Services does not include deaths of people who had COVID-19 but died of an unrelated cause, according to the DSHS dashboard.

Of the total cases reported, 7,646 are estimated to have recovered, and there are an estimated 247 active cases.

The current rolling seven-day positivity rate, or the rate as which tests return positive, also continues to decline and is 7.14% as of Aug. 26.

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: 509
• Cedar Park: 805
• Georgetown: 1,376
• Hutto: 529
• Leander: 418
• Round Rock: 2,459
• Other: 977

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.