Buda man dies from COVID-19; County reports seven new hospitalizations

A Buda man has died from complications caused by COVID-19, marking the 35th coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department stated that the man, who was in his 40s, was hospitalized at the time of his death. 

The county also reported 53 additional COVID-19 recoveries, 38  new lab-confirmed cases, seven hospitalizations and one hospital discharge on Monday. 

There are currently 2,787 active coronavirus cases — 16 less than Friday — and there have been 5,050 since the first diagnosis of the virus within the county on March 14.

Hays County has now recorded 2,228 recoveries from the disease with the 53 additional recoveries announced Monday. County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said there are still cases not yet in the recovered category because the local health department can only make a certain number of follow-up calls per day and, in some cases, are unable to reach people to clear them. 

There are currently 20 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus following the seven additional hospitalizations and one hospital discharge announced Monday. There have been 124 total hospitalizations. Schneider added that 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 has received 22,421 negative tests and is awaiting results from 52 tests. There have been 27,523 tests administered in Hays County. 

“We encourage everyone to continue slowing the spread of the virus by hand washing, social distancing and wearing masks,” Schneider said in statement. “The pandemic isn’t over and it’s not time to relax when it comes to safety.”

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases with 12 less cases than Friday. The city currently has 1,304 active cases and has had 2,496 total cases.

Kyle now has 925 active cases and has had 1,562 total. Buda has recorded 678 total cases and currently has 378 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 83 total cases, including 32 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 81 total cases and has 67 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 29 active cases and has had 45 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 32 total cases and has 29 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases, including one active case. Uhland has had 15 total cases and has 10 active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases, including three active cases.  Mountain City has had nine total cases and has six active cases. Manchaca has had eight total cases and two active cases. Bear Creek and Woodcreek each have had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases, surpassing the 2,000 mark with 2,005 total cases recorded Monday. Eight-hundred-sixty county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-sixteen people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Four-hundred-sixty-six residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-sixteen county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 280 are 60-69 years old, 173 are 9 years old or younger, 159 are 70-79 years old and 75 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,644 females and 2,406 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37.9% are Hispanic and 17.9% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.5% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 37.1% are unknown or not specified, 1.9% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Service reported Monday that there have now been 490,817 Texans diagnosed with the coronavirus, there have been 8,490 fatalities and there are 7,437 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 349,833Texans have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

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.