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Reports from the Texas Department of State Health Services and Health and Human Services showed that Kerr County had four additional COVID-19 deaths in December, including two more at Villagio of Kerrville — an assisted living center that has been hit hard by the virus.  All of this comes as Peterson Health reported 51 new cases on Tuesday— one of the biggest one-day totals since the pandemic began — and nearly 30,000 people tested positive for the virus across the state. Peterson Regional Medical Center had 29 people admitted to the hospital on Tuesday.  The deaths at Villagio bring the assisted living home's toll to five, but that report is only through Dec. 22. At that point, 17 residents had tested positive for the virus. The same report showed that 52 people had tested positive at Kerrville's River Hills Nursing and Health, where two people died. More than 250 people have tested positive for the virus among the staff and patients at nursing homes.  An estimated 31 people d

Peterson Health reported that 100 people had tested positive for the coronavirus over the extended New Year's holiday weekend, and at least one person had lost their life due to the virus.  The Kerr County death toll is now estimated to have reached 67 people since May — more than one-third of those deaths happened in December. This latest death is the 14th at Peterson since Sept. 29. The lengthy delays in reporting from Texas Health and Human Services do not give a clear real-time picture of what is happening at Kerrville's nursing and assisted living centers, which have been hit hard by the virus.  The last update by Health and Human Services showed significant outbreaks at Villagio of Kerrville — an assisted living center — and the River Hills Nursing and Health.  More concerning, however, is that Peterson Health reported a 35% infection rate of those who were screened for COVID-19 — the highest sample of positivity during the recent surge of the virus in Kerr County. In the

The Texas Department of State Health Services said there were two additional Kerr County to die from coronavirus this week in its update on Friday.  The two deaths happened on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30. The second death could be a duplicate count from Peterson Health, which reported one death on that day, but officials were unavailable to clarify the accounting. Over the last few months, Kerr County residents who have died in San Antonio-area hospitals have been counted long before those from Peterson Health.  With the two deaths, the estimated number of people from Kerr County who have died from COVID-19 is 66 in 2020, including 26 in December.  The hospitalization situation continued to worsen across the state and in the DSHS San Antonio region, which includes Kerrville, 85% of hospital beds were filled. More than 24% of those patients were infected with COVID-19. Across Texas, more than 12,400 people were hospitalized with the virus.  Texas officials said there were just 580 intensive car

Larry Leitha, center, is sworn-in as the new Kerr County Sheriff by 198th District Court Judge Rex Emmerson. Leitha is flanked by his children, Larry and Bobbi.  For the first time in 20 years, Kerr County has a new Sheriff.  On Friday morning, the first day of the new year, Larry Leitha assumed control of the Kerr County Sheriff's Office as the county's new sheriff.  During a swearing-in ceremony at the Happy State Bank Expo Center, Leitha, along with his deputies, was sworn in to serve the county. It was one of several swearing-in ceremonies for Kerr County elected officials, including two commissioners, held on Friday morning.  For Leitha, the moment was the culmination of a two-year, if not a career, goal of succeeding retiring Kerr County Sheriff W.R. "Rusty" Hierholzer. Since securing the office through a hard-fought primary, a run-off and the Nov. 3 general election, Leitha has been meeting with Hierholzer regularly and has been a regular at the Kerr County Com

 

A second patient at the Kerrville State Hospital has died from COVID-19, while the situation at Kerrville' Brookdale Guadalupe River Plaza nursing home came into focus with time-delayed data released by Texas Health and Human Services.  While Peterson Health is not reporting new data on Thursday — due to the New Year's holiday — the state released information that showed a death at the Kerrville State Hospital on Tuesday. That marks the 24th death in Kerr County this month and the 64th death during the coronavirus pandemic.  On Wednesday, social media posts began to emerge of an outbreak at Brookdale Guadalupe — a nursing home and assisted living facility. Texas Health and Human Services will not confirm current outbreaks, data released on Thursday showed that three employees tested positive for the virus on Dec. 17. In previous outbreaks at Kerrville area nursing homes and assisted living centers, employee outbreaks led to the spread to patients and residents.  During the pand

Peterson Health confirmed that one person died on Wednesday from COVID-19, while 22 people tested positive for the virus.  This latest death is estimated to be the 23rd from Kerr County in December and the 63rd during the coronavirus pandemic. The death is Peterson's seventh this month and 13th since Sept. 29.  Peterson Regional Medical Center had 31 people hospitalized with the virus on Wednesday.  During Monday's Kerr County Commissioner's Court meeting, Peterson Health President and CEO Cory Edmondson made a key point, which had previously not been reported, that the state of Texas only considers 88 of the hospital's 124 beds to be fully staffed when it comes to COVID-19 care. The difference is that 26 beds are reserved for rehabilitation, while the remaining 12 can be held as a reserve. Peterson has converted some of those beds to free up capacity. However, it also means that the hospital's percentage of COVID-19 cases is higher than previously reported.  Earlie