Four San Marcos residents die from COVID-19; County announces 25 new cases

Four San Marcos residents died from COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department announced Tuesday. 

Three of the San Marcos residents who died from the coronavirus were males — one was in his 50s, one in his 60s and one in his 80s — while the fourth was a female in her 80s. The local health department stated that they were all hospitalized at the time of their death. Hays County has recorded 21 fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14. 

The local health department also tallied 25 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 57 recoveries and one hospitalization.  

There are now 3,044 active cases — 36 less cases since Monday — and there have been 4,004 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within the county. 

With the additional hospitalization announced Tuesday, there are now 20 county residents currently hospitalized by the disease and there have been 85 total hospitalizations. According to Epidemiologist Eric Schneider, 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 57 recoveries recorded Tuesday marks 939 county residents who have recovered from the disease. 

The local health department has received 12,213 negative tests and is awaiting results from 52 tests.

“COVID-19 is still spreading. We urge everyone to continue working on slowing the spread of the virus in Hays County,” Schneider said.

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county with 2,090 total cases but saw a 27 case decrease in active cases with 1,600. 

Kyle now has 862 active cases and has had 1,167 total. Buda has recorded 512 total cases and currently has 398 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 72 total cases and has 60 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 62 total cases, including 46 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 27 active cases and has had 39 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 22 total cases and has 20 active cases. Niederwald has had 16 total cases and has 12 active cases. 

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

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 1,756. Six-hundred-sixty-nine county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Four-hundred-forty-nine people diagnosed with the disease are 40-49 years old. Three-hundred-fifty-two residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Two-hundred-seventy county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are between 10-19 years old, 215 are 60-69 years old, 120 are 9 years old or younger, 107 are 70-79 years old and 66 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,095 females and 1,909 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

According to the county’s ethnic breakdown, 42% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 40.1% are Hispanic and 18.01% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 54.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 43.1% are unknown or not specified, 2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 9,305 new COVID-19 cases and 131 fatalities on Tuesday. The DSHS reported that 341,739 Texans have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, there have been 4,151 fatalities and there have been an estimated 186,529 Texans who have recovered from the disease. There are currently 10,848 Texans hospitalized by the virus.

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.