Halfway through June, Hays County recorded an average of 36 daily cases of COVID-19, and two weeks later, the daily average jumped to 150. Several culprits contributed to this shift, putting the county at a higher rate than its more densely populated neighbor, Travis County.

After phase three of reopening on June 12, daily cases climbed exponentially. State Rep. for House District 45, Erin Zwiener and Dr. Manish Naik, an Internal Medicine Physician and Pandemic Specialist at Austin Regional Clini...