3 Hays County residents die from COVID-19, 82 new cases reported Monday

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

The county stated that the residents who died were a Buda man in his 70s, and two women from Kyle who were in their 70s. There have now been 99 coronavirus-related fatalities in Hays County. 

The local health department also reported an additional 82 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 15 recoveries, five hospitalizations and five hospital discharges Monday, which included information from over the weekend. 

There are currently 735 active coronavirus cases — a 64-case increase since Friday — and there have been 7,042 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14. The local health department also reported that there have been 934 active cases over the last 21 days — a 69-case increase since Friday. The county reported that there have been 850 probable cases spanning from April through mid November. 

There are currently 12 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 423 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported 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 the county, the local health department said.

Hays County has now had 6,208 residents recover from the disease as of Monday. 
The local health department has received 47,092 negative tests and there have been 54,134 tests administered in Hays County.

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, Epidemiologist Eric Schneider urges residents to consider making holiday plans that will protect the most vulnerable, including not traveling, having small group gatherings and virtual celebrations.

“Family is so important, yet we need to consider how we interact with others this holiday season” Schneider said. “We each need to take actions to protect the elderly and at-risk community.” 

San Marcos, which has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county, recorded a one-case increase in active cases Monday. There are currently 90 active COVID-19 cases and there have been 3,090 total cases.

Kyle has tallied 2,233 total cases, including 322 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,095 total cases and currently has 198 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 210 total cases and has 67 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 136 total cases, including 14 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 22 active cases and has had 118 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 65 total cases and has 13 active cases. Niederwald has had 33 total cases and has three active cases. Uhland has had 23 total cases and has no active cases. Mountain City has had 16 total cases and has five active cases.

Maxwell has had nine total cases. Manchaca has had eight total cases. Bear Creek has had three total cases. Woodcreek has had two total cases and has one active case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,399 total cases tallied as of Monday.

According to the local health department, 1,108 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Eight-hundred-ninety-four people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Eight-hundred-seventy residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. 
Six-hundred-sixty-nine county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 431 are 60-69 years old, 241 are 70-79 years old, 273 are 9 years old or younger and 157 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,666 females and 3,376 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 45.65% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 28.69% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 25.66% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 66.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 30.7% are unknown or not specified, 2.3% are Black and 0.6% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there have now been 1,100,979 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 20,588 fatalities and an estimated 917,739 recoveries from the disease as of Monday. There are currently 8,353 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,040 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 977 among students and 63 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Monday. There are currently 102 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

As San Marcos Consolidated ISD brought back students at roughly 55% capacity in November, the district is reporting 11 active COVID-19 cases — nine among faculty and staff and four among students.
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.