5 Hays County residents die of COVID-19; 54 new cases recorded Tuesday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported five new COVID-related fatalities on Tuesday: a Buda man in his 50s, a Kyle man in his 60s, a Kyle woman in her 90s, a San Marcos man in his 30s and Wimberley woman in her 90s.

Hays County has now recorded 221 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department tallied no new recoveries from the disease, 54 new lab-confirmed cases, four hospitalizations and six hospital discharges on Tuesday. 

According to the local health department, 559 cases are considered active — 49 more than Monday  — and there have been 16,399  total cases. The county has tallied 872 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,802 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through March 2, 2021.

Twenty county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 752 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported on Tuesday. 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 15,619 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the zero recoveries recorded Tuesday. 

The local health department has received 125,245 negative tests and there have been 141,644 tests administered in Hays County. Following its weekly audit last week, the county removed two cases from its total number of cases. The county stated that it removes cases due to being out-of-county or duplicate data.

San Marcos currently has 153 active cases — a five-case increase since Monday — and there have been 5,832 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 5,315 total cases, including 170 active cases. Buda has tallied 2,881 total cases and currently has 117 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 752 total cases and has 34 active cases. Wimberley has counted 659 total cases, including 37 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 33 active cases and has had 492 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 202 total cases and has four active cases. Niederwald has had 89 total cases and has one active case. Maxwell has had 53 total cases and has eight active cases. Mountain City has amassed 40 cases and one active case. Uhland has had 29 total cases and one active case. Manchaca has recorded 23 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied seven total. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. Creedmoor has had three total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,660 total cases tallied Tuesday. 

According to the local health department, 2,514 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,415 are 10-19 years old; 2,220 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,653 are between 50-59 years old; 1,067 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old; and 1,044 are 9 years old or younger

Five-hundred-twenty-three residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 303 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 8,555 females and 7,844 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.16% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 33.88% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16.96% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.6% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 1% are listed as other, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,297,878 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 43,266 fatalities as of Tuesday. There are currently 5,644 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,191 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,969 among students and 222 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Tuesday.  There are currently 60 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 2 COVID-19 cases for the week of Feb. 15-21. Both cases exist among staff members. 

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 SIGNUP 

To pre-register for Hays County’s COVID-19 vaccine waitlist visit haysinformed.com/covid-19. The pre-registration list does not guarantee an appointment. The state is only allowing individuals in groups 1A — front-line healthcare workers and residents at long-term care facilities — and 1B, individuals 65 or older, or 16 or older with a health condition that increases risk of severe COVID‑19 illness to register to be vaccinated. According to the DSHS, 25,974 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 12,750 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.