4 county residents die from COVID-19, 567 new cases reported Monday

Four Hays County residents have died from COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Monday. 

The county residents who died were a Dripping Springs woman in her 80s; a Kyle man in his 70s; a San Marcos man in his 60s; and a San Marcos woman in her 50s, the county said. There have now been 175 coronavirus-related fatalities in Hays County. 

The local health department also reported 567 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 253 recoveries, 17 hospital discharges and 14 hospitalizations on Monday, which included information from the weekend. 

The county states that 3,007 COVID-19 cases are considered active — a 310-case increase since Friday — and there have been 14,482 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in the county on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,964 active cases over the last 21 days as of Monday. The county stated that there have been 1,657 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Jan. 25, 2021.

There are currently 40 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 631 total hospitalizations as of Monday. Some patients hospitalized by COVID-19 are in hospitals outside of Hays County but are included in the county’s numbers if they reside within Hays County, the local health department said. 

With the 253 additional recoveries tallied Monday, 11,300 county residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 100,540 negative tests and there have been 115,022 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 166 new cases Monday. There are currently 943 active cases — 98 more than Friday —  and there have been 5,438 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 4,545 total cases, including 1,006 active cases. Buda has recorded 2,523 total cases and currently has 563 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 668 total cases and has 166 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 526 total cases, including 157 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 80 active cases and has had 379 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 175 total cases and has 31 active cases. Niederwald has had 87 total cases and has 26 active cases.  Maxwell has had 41 total cases and has 23 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 36 cases and four currently active cases. Uhland has had 29 total cases and currently has three active cases. Manchaca has recorded 19 total cases and has two active cases.

Creedmoor has had five total cases, including two active cases. Bear Creek has tallied four total cases. Woodcreek has had four total cases and one active case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,248 total cases tallied as of Monday.

According to the local health department, 2,273 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, 2,036 are 10-19 years old, 1,954 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range and 1,467 are between 50-59 years old.

Nine-hundred-nineteen county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 871 are 9 years old or younger, 463 are 70-79 years old and 251 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 7,595 females and 6,887 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 48.9% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 32.8% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 18.4% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.5% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.8% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 0.9% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,965,585 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 34,394 fatalities as of Monday. There are currently 12,785 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,728 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,542 among students and 186 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Monday.  There are currently 241 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 12 active COVID-19 cases — eight among staff and four among students — for the week of Jan. 18-24.

COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks for most people. The disease, however, can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death, especially for older adults and people with existing health problems.

COVID-19 VACCINE AVAILABILITY

According to a map provided by the DSHS, there are four providers in San Marcos who currently have received vaccine doses: HEB Pharmacy 455 (200 W. Hopkins St.); HEB Pharmacy 243 (641 E. Hopkins St.); Premier ER San Marcos (1509 N. Interstate 35); and San Marcos Family Medicine (2406 Hunter Road). But, according to the DSHS and San Marcos Family Medicine, all providers in San Marcos allocated vaccine doses have run out as of Monday.