Local governments across Hays County deserve mostly high marks for acting with maturity and dedication over the past two weeks to do what is within their power to minimize the destruction of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Without these tough-minded measures, by some models the virus could spread to as many as 75% of people – or about 187,00 Hays County residents alone – by mid-summer. A large number of those will be mild cases or they will be asymptomatic, but as many as 3,000 to 4,000 could...