Williamson County Health, TX

July 12, 2021 – Williamson County has met the criteria to increase to COVID-19 Orange Phase. The criteria set by the Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) was initially reached on July 5 and had been sustained and rising for an additional week.

The incidence for today is at 6.17 per 100k people, which has more than doubled in the past week, and continues to climb. The TSA Region O hospitalization has also increased daily in the past week, which is the second criteria for moving up a phase. Hospitalization rate remains low at 2.47% but has doubled in the past seven days. Age ranges with the most cases are those 18-30 years, followed by those 31-50 years.

The COVID-19 Phased Gating Stages mitigation recommendations were updated on May 17 to reflect the changes to the CDC Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. The color-based Phase Guidelines are not changes to local rules or regulations for businesses; they are guidelines for individual actions and behaviors based on levels of risk of exposure in the community. It is important to note that everyone should continue to follow any additional requirements of local businesses, venues, and schools regardless of vaccination status or stage. The recommendations for partially or unvaccinated individuals have not changed. Additionally, residents are reminded that wearing a mask, even when fully vaccinated, is an effective tool to reduce spread of many respiratory illnesses. 

“Vaccination remains the single most proven effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and our best tool to end the pandemic,” said Allison Stewart, WCCHD Lead Epidemiologist. “With the increase in variant infections, and waning immunity from those previously infected, this is a critical time to for our community to protect themselves and their families by getting vaccinated."

The COVID-19 dashboard will reflect the Orange Phase update today and dashboard updates will resume back to daily updates, Monday through Friday.

For more information on COVID-19 please visit www.wcchd.org/COVID-19.

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