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Hays County announced its first presumptive case of COVID-19 on Saturday.
Hays County and the City of San Marcos will declare a state of disaster on Sunday following Saturday’s announcement, officials said.
“The declaration activates our emergency plan and will allow us to allocate resources and to utilize all disaster funding and resources available through state and federal agencies,” Mayor Jane Hughson said in a statement. “We knew we would eventually see cases in our area and have been working cooperatively with our regional partners to protect our residents. We remind everyone to remain calm and to continue to practice preventive measures.”
Hays County officials stated that the patient with the presumptive case of COVID-19 traveled to multiple cities along the United States West Coast and it’s believed they were exposed while traveling. The patient reported their symptoms to the Hays County Local Health Department upon arriving back to Central Texas. The patient was admitted to a local hospital and later released. The county said the patient will self-quarantine until they are symptom-free for 48 hours without use of fever-reducing medication.
“As this is a pandemic disease, we fully expected to see cases in Hays County and have been preparing for this situation,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said in a statement. “We have been working with local and state officials to ensure that protocols are established and followed, and that we have access to additional resources should they be necessary.”
County officials state that the patient did not expose any Hays County residents to the illness.
The Hays County Local Health Department is working with the Department of State Health Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to notify the passengers that were potentially exposed while on the plane with the patient, the county said.
COVID-19 is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that’s a close cousin to SARS and MERS viruses that have caused previous outbreaks. The disease is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. COVID-19 may take up to 2-14 days after exposure to appear. The disease can cause a wide range of respiratory illnesses, including fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019.
According to the CDC, a presumptive positive case is when a patient has tested positive by a local health laboratory but the results are still pending confirmation from a CDC lab.
Hays County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider stated that most persons who contract COVID-19 will have a low to moderate fever, a cough and congestion, typically treated with over the counter medications. Currently, there is no specialized treatment for COVID-19 as there is with influenza.
“Residents with underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system and persons over 65 tend to be hardest hit by COVID-19 and should consult their healthcare provider if they are experiencing symptoms, as should persons with high fevers or shortness of breath,” Schneider said.
This story has been edited since its first publication.
