Some might say it was inevitable, as COVID-19 has been sweeping through the Hill Country over the past weeks, with positive counties surrounding Blanco County. Blanco County held out as long as it could, but four cases of coronavirus have been confirmed as of Monday afternoon.

One county official said that Blanco County residents should be concerned, which is why he issued a 12-page stay-in-place order on Monday. The order, which went into effect one minute before midnight on Monday, is one of many such orders that have been issued by counties and municipalities.

It states that a significant portion of the population is at risk for serious health complication or death because of the virus.

The commissioners court on March 24 authorized the order, which allows “essential businesses” to remain open and people should plan to work from home as much as possible and to continue social distancing.

“This virus…has an infection and spread capability that is unique and intense,” said Blanco County Judge Brett Bray on April 2. “At this moment, we in Blanco County are performing well in this ‘war.’”

Much like in a military war, the war against coronavirus is measured in ground gained, or lost.

“We don’t want to lose ground and only serious approaches will succeed,” Bray said. “It’s difficult to disrupt our lives and there’s fear that we will not return to normal; We have every intention to return to life as we knew it as much as possible. I urge citizens to keep up the vigilance, withstand the temporary inconvenience and persevere.”

The county is surrounded by other counties that also are reporting positive cases, according to information from the Texas Department of State Health Services on Monday.

Blanco County now has a hotline for residents to call with COVID-19 questions. It’s currently available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by calling toll-free (844) 868-8308.

County case information is updated at dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus, and the Blanco County Office of Emergency Management posts frequent updates to its Facebook page.

The cases so far

The first two of Blanco County’s confirmed cases were travel-related, but the two cases that were announced on Monday indicated community spread within the county.

Twelve additional “likely” cases were known as of April 6. Likely cases include people who are having symptoms but coronavirus has not been confirmed by a lab.

A male and female resident of Blanco County in their 60’s had COVID-19 testing performed while admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 symptoms.

“(The first two) patients are in stable condition and are recovering at home, although both remain symptomatic at this time,” said Ben Oakley, Blanco County infectious disease control officer. Oakley is the EMS Chief for Blanco County ESD 2. The second two patients also are self-quarantined at home.

On March 21, a Blanco County woman in her 60s tested positive after completing drive-through testing after experiencing symptoms, according to a March 23 news release.

Twelve days later, on April 2, a man in his 50s was reported to have tested positive.

“This individual traveled within the City of Blanco to Exxon, Dollar General and Lowe’s Market on March 24,” according to a news update from the county’s Office of Emergency Management on April 2. When the man realized he had symptoms, he immediately self-quarantined.

Health officials decided it was important to post not just the confirmed cases, but the “likely” cases, also.

“Not all cases have had access to COVID-19 testing, and not all cases will have access to testing because of limitations in the healthcare system,” Oakley said. “Because of this limitation, we feel it’s important to report statistics on anyone with COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of lab confirmation.”

‘Facts, not fear’

“The motto that I’ve been using from the beginning is ‘Facts, Not Fear,’” Oakley said. “I don’t want people to be afraid, but the community needs to take this pandemic seriously.”

Things have changed since the coronavirus was identified within the county.

“It will take our community working together to have an impact and slow the spread of COVID-19,” Oakley said. “We’re still at a point in this pandemic where everyone can make a difference. Small changes will have a big impact.”

Oakley said the county’s EMS professionals were prepared to face the first positive case.

“While COVID-19 has drastically changed a lot of the ways that EMS operates, EMS had already implemented all of the necessary changes locally long before we had our first positive case.”

Preparations began in February, when EMS and county officials began meeting with local, regional and federal agencies.

“Our entire staff have been working hard to anticipate challenges and implement necessary changes ahead of time,” Oakley said.

On the front lines

That’s not to say that it’s been easy.

“Our EMS professionals are on the front lines in this fight against COVID-19, which is incredibly stressful,” Oakley said. “They’re used to responding to stressful situations on a daily basis, but this pandemic has brought forth fears about contracting the virus and taking it home to their families.”

Standing between paramedics and their families are personal protective equipment, or PPE.

The county is not immune to the nationwide shortage of medical-grade PPE: EMS normally keeps 90 days of supplies in stock but now supply levels are sufficient for 7-10 days, Oakley said.

“That’s about the same level as other EMS agencies and hospitals are maintaining during the current situation,” he said. “Our EMS professionals have the necessary tools to take care of our community, but this is a dynamic situation. We’re working on sourcing additional supplies on a daily basis.”

In addition to supply shortages, Oakley said there has been another trouble spot for EMS professionals.

“We love our community dearly and love the opportunity to go out during our shifts and interact with the community at local establishments, but we’ve been confined to our stations except for essential trips and emergency calls; we all have to practice social distancing,” Oakley said. “We’re looking forward to things getting back to normal once COVID-19 is behind us because we’ve missed the chances to get out and visit with people.”

What can you do?

Be patient.

Oakley said that when calling 911 for EMS service, folks should be prepared to answer a few additional questions. The enhanced screening went into effect on March 17.

“While this may seem frustrating to people calling 911 during an emergency, I can assure everybody that this enhanced screening process has only increased our call-taking process by a matter of seconds, thanks to the high-tech computer-aided dispatching system we have in our 911 call center,” he said. “Callers should remain calm and answer the questions to the best of their ability.”

Folks already have been finding ways to help get protective equipment to medical personnel.

Oakley said that residents have been donating boxes of precious N95 masks.

“We really appreciate these donations,” Oakley said.

Still running in short supply is hand sanitizer, which is needed because paramedics don’t have easy access to sinks with running water and soap.

“Our crews depend on hand sanitizer,” he said. “We’ve been able to overcome these challenges thanks to our local distilleries that have produced hand sanitizer for us, which has been an absolute lifeline.”

The county also has had quite a few people offer to make fabric-based face masks. He said that EMS needs medical-grade masks but that community members, especially people who are sick or at high risk, could benefit from using the homemade fabric-based masks.