3 Hays County residents die of COVID-19, 218 new cases recorded Thursday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported three additional COVID-19-related fatalities on Thursday. 

The three county residents who died were a Kyle woman in her 90s; a Buda man in his 70s; and a Kyle man in his 50s. There have now been 171 coronavirus-related fatalities. 

The local health department also recorded 218 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 126 recoveries, eight hospital discharges and five hospitalizations on Thursday. 

The county states that 2,644 COVID-19 cases are considered active — a 69-case increase since Wednesday — and there have been 13,900 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in the county on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,431 active cases over the last 21 days as of Thursday. The county stated that there have been 1,612 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Jan. 21, 2021.

There are currently 44 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 668  total hospitalizations as of Thursday. 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 126 additional recoveries tallied Thursday, 11,065 county residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 96,202 negative tests and there have been 110,102 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 53 new cases Thursday. There are currently 839 active cases — three more than Wednesday —  and there have been 5,285 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 4,308 total cases, including 839 active cases. Buda has recorded 2,439 total cases and currently has 536 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 619 total cases and has 146 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 493 total cases, including 138 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 85 active cases and has had 371 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 168 total cases and has 28 active cases. Niederwald has had 85 total cases and has 26 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 35 cases and three currently active cases. Maxwell has had 34 total cases and has 18 active cases. Uhland has had 28 total cases and currently has two 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 4,109 total cases tallied as of Thursday.

According to the local health department, 2,183 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, 1,924 are 10-19 years old, 1,875 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range and 1,407 are between 50-59 years old.

Eight-hundred-eighty-two county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 822 are 9 years old or younger, 450 are 70-79 years old and 248 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 7,271 females and 6,629 males in Hays County have  been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 48.6% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 32.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 18.9% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.8% are unknown or not specified, 2.6% are Black, 0.9% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,917,513 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 33,285 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 13,564 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,657 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,479 among students and 178 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Thursday.  There are currently 200 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 25 active COVID-19 cases — 16 among staff and nine among students — for the week of Jan. 11. Nine cases are considered onsite cases. 

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 vaccines doses have run out as of Thursday.