It’s not over yet.

One local doctor expects the county’s COVID-19 cases to climb, following a statewide trend.

“Statewide numbers are rising at a phenomenal rate,” said Llano County Health Authority Dr. Jack Franklin with Hill Country Direct Care. “I certainly expect Llano’s case count also to continue rising.”

As of June 26, Llano County has had 22 people test positive for COVID-19, including 15 active cases. More than 1,000 people have been tested countywide, according to the Llano County Office of Emergency Management. Only one person, a man in his 60s, had to be hospitalized.

No deaths have been reported in the county.

What trends?

It’s human nature to search for patterns, but health officials haven’t seen the hot spots or demographic trends identified elsewhere, making Llano County’s COVID-19 situation distressing.

“The lack of a trend is one of the scariest problems that we’ve had,” Franklin said.

Cases are spread throughout the county: eight cases have been reported in Horseshoe Bay; six cases in Kingsland; five in Llano, and one case apiece in Sunrise Beach, Buchanan Dam and Tow, according to information released by the county judge on June 26.

On one day alone last week, one case each was reported in Horseshoe Bay, Kingsland, and Llano.

“Ages varied from 19 to 92. Two were female one was male. There were no commonalities to their cases whatsoever,” Franklin said. “This sporadic occurrence tells me that the virus is being brought into our county in multiple areas at the same time.”

Franklin said that contact tracing has shown outbreaks associated with outdoor gatherings in neighboring counties.

It’s also possible that some Llano County folks, who initially were meticulous about social distancing and mask-wearing, were lulled into a false sense of security after ten weeks--from March 31 to June 9--with no new cases.

“We felt safe that we were somehow past the virus,” Franklin said. “It’s back. We’ve already seen four times the number of cases we saw in March within the last week. The big problem with staying vigilant is that you have to stay vigilant. It’s difficult to follow guidelines all the time. We’re fatigued and tired of the control measures imposed on us.”

‘Take this seriously’

The doctor said that it’s time to don those masks, keep your distance and wash your hands.

“My advice for people in Llano County is to go back to taking this as seriously as we did a month ago,” Franklin said. “We had several weeks where things weren’t as severe, but that time has passed and we’re back to a point where we need to be wearing masks.”

Pre-symptomatic spread can be just as problematic as asymptomatic.

“The big problem here is pre-symptomatic spread because individuals with coronavirus are infectious for 48 hours before they have symptoms, so a pre-symptomatic individual can avoid spreading the virus unknowingly if they wear a mask in public.”

He said that it’s especially important for businesses to have employees wear masks.

“Think of a scenario where one employee contracts coronavirus,” Franklin said. “If none of the other employees wear a mask at work, then everyone who was in contact with that employee for the 48 hours prior to illness now should go into quarantine for 14 days.”

Because of a backlog in labs, Dr. Franklin suggested only getting tested if you are showing symptoms, have been exposed to a known positive case or if a doctor suggests it. Healthcare providers in Burnet, Williamson and Gillespie counties provide testing, either at drive-up events or with a doctor’s referral: Baylor Scott & White, Ascension Seton Highland Lakes Hospital, Hill Country Memorial, NextCare Urgent Care in Marble Falls, and Hill Country Direct Care in Llano.

Visit www.dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus to learn more about symptoms, where to get tested, and more. The Llano County Office of Emergency Management provides updates on their Facebook page.