Texas Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett says that positive cases of COVID-19 have grown by 845% in Hays County, just south of Austin. Doggett made the claim in a June 22 tweet, comparing the county’s COVID-19 cases to that of Travis County to the north.
Hays County is one of the only places in Texas with more trouble: an incredible 845% increase in cases since June 7.
— Lloyd Doggett (@RepLloydDoggett) June 22, 2020
Is that a fact?
Madlin Mekelburg of the PolitiFact Texas fact-checking team based at the Austin American-Statesman looked into it. She told Texas Standard host David Brown on Wednesday that Doggett made that claim amid a rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations around the state. But the rise is worse in some places.
“Some areas in the state are experiencing this more acutely than others. And what he was doing here was highlighting Hays County,” Mekelburg said.
Hear how Doggett’s claim scored in the audio player above.
Web story by Caroline Covington.
