A statewide mask mandate exemption for which Llano County qualified last month was reversed a week after it was granted because the county’s COVID-19 cases began to creep upward.
As of Oct. 5, Llano County had 22 active coronavirus cases, which is over the limit of 20 active cases allowed for an exemption from the mandatory statewide mask requirement.
On Sept. 23, the Texas Division of Emergency Management granted a request by Llano County to be exempted from the statewide mask mandate. But then, on Sept. 30, the decision was reversed after the county judge realized they were over the limit.
“It was disappointing to say the least,” said Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham. “Our hopes were that the downward trend in Llano County would continue; instead, we saw a significant increase in cases in both Llano and Burnet counties.”
Cunningham said that before considering whether to refile for an exemption in the future, he would need more confidence in the data.
“Since July, we’ve experienced a large disparity in the number of active and reported cases between our records and what the Texas Department of State Health Services provides on their website,” Cunningham said. “I’d need to have more confidence in the actual numbers of when persons are tested, results of tests, and information on positive cases. All of that information would need to be reported to the Local Health Authority so they can accurately track and conduct contact tracing.”
He said that one cause of the data disconnect is that more testing is available in the region and Llano County residents are traveling outside of the county to get tested.
“The contractors performing the test aren’t reporting the results to DSHS or Llano County,” Cunningham said. “This is problematic in our having an accurate number of active cases.”
Llano County had been experiencing a downward trend in cases since hitting a high in July, according to county statistics. Now, an upward angle can be seen in the county’s informational graph. As of Oct. 5, the county has had 196 cases, including 5 deaths.
“Llano County’s highest numbers were in July when our number of confirmed cases reached 106; yet in August, we observed the numbers declining and only had 22 cases,” Cunningham said. “Then in September, we didn’t have any cases our first 10 days of the month and at the time of filing for exemption, we only had 5 active cases. Surprisingly, our number had reached 15 even before our exemption was granted.”
Llano County’s increase in cases mirrors what is being experienced by many other Texas cities and counties. “Over the last 30 days, there’s been an increase in cases and medical experts haven’t yet determined what’s causing it,” Cunningham said.
It was almost seven months ago, on March 13, that Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster due to COVID-19. At the time, Llano County had not yet logged its first positive case.
“We’ll continue to maintain up-to-date communications with our state agencies, local elected officials, health care providers and first responders,” Cunningham said. “This will prepare us for any outbreak of clusters and implement preventative measures. My hope is that everyone chooses to remain vigilant in taking precautions, especially as we enter the allergy and flu seasons.”
