WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — The Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) announced Monday that the county has met the criteria to increase to its COVID-19 "Orange Phase." The criteria set by the WCCHD was initially reached on July 5 and had been sustained and rising since then.
WCCHD said the incidence for Monday was 6.17 per 100,000 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, according to WCCHD.
The hospitalization rate remains low at 2.47% but has also doubled in the past week. WCCHD said the age range with the most cases is 18 to 30-year-olds, followed by those 31 to 50 years old.
The WCCHD's COVID-19 Phased Gating Stages mitigation recommendations were updated in May to reflect changes in the CDC's recommendations for fully vaccinated people. The color-based phase guidelines are not changes to local rules or regulations for businesses but guidelines for individual actions and behaviors based on levels of risk of exposure in the community.
WCCHD said residents 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. Learn more about the mitigation measures.
"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's 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."
WCCHD's COVID-19 dashboard reflects the Orange Phase update as of Monday and dashboard updates will resume back to daily updates, Monday through Friday.
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