3 Hays County residents from COVID-19, 163 new cases tallied Friday

Three additional Hays County residents have died from COVID-19, raising the coronavirus-related death toll to 198. 

The Hays County Local Health Department said the county residents who died were a Kyle man in his 80s; a San Marcos man in his 70s; and a Kyle man in his 60s. 

The county also reported an additional 215 recoveries from the disease, 163 new lab-confirmed cases, eight hospital discharges and four hospitalizations on Friday. 

The local health department stated that 1,945 COVID-19 cases are considered active — a 55-case decrease since Thursday — and there have been 15,378 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,044 active cases over the last 21 days as of Friday. The county stated that there have been 1,743 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Feb. 5, 2021.

With the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges on Friday, there are currently 35 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 691 total hospitalizations. 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. 

There have now been 13,235 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 215 recoveries reported Friday. 

The local health department has received 111,140 negative tests and there have been 126,518 tests administered in Hays County. After the county conducted its weekly audit, 70 cases were removed from its total case county, including seven which were considered hospitalizations. Hays County removes cases when they are confirmed to be duplicates or out of county. 

San Marcos currently has 508 active cases — 27 fewer than Thursday — and there have been 5,558 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 4,956 total cases, including 716 active cases. Buda has tallied 2,698 total cases and currently has 348 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 698 total cases and has 114 active cases. Wimberley has counted 592 total cases, including 107 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 94 active cases and has had 439 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 191 total cases and has 23 active cases. Niederwald has had 87 total cases and has seven active cases. Maxwell has had 47 total cases and has 18 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 37 cases and two currently active cases. Uhland has had 28 total cases and currently has two active cases. Manchaca has recorded 19 total cases and has one active case.

Woodcreek has two active cases and has tallied six total. Creedmoor has had four total cases, including two active cases. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,436 total cases tallied Friday.

According to the local health department, 2,377 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,212 are 10-19 years old; 2,072 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,559 are between 50-59 years old; and 1,002 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Nine-hundred-forty-seven residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are 9 years old or younger, 498 are 70-79 years old and 275 are 80 and older.

The local health department reports that 8,011 females and 7,367 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 49% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 33.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 17.5% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.8% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,143,353 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 38,128 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 10,259 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,022 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,809 among students and 213 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Friday.  There are currently 195 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 17 active COVID-19 cases — 10 among students and seven among staff — for the week of Jan. 25-29.

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.