Hays County reports 42 COVID-19 recoveries, 39 new cases

The Hays County Local Health Department reported that 42 additional county residents have recovered from COVID-19, and 39 new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday. 

There are currently 2,646 active COVID-19 cases — three less than Friday — and there have been 5,550 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in Hays County on March 14. 

With the 42 recoveries reported Monday, 2,463 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

There are currently 17 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus. There have been 128 total hospitalizations. 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.

The county has reported 41 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries.

The local health department has received 22,971 negative tests and is awaiting results from 39 tests. There have been 28,160 tests administered in Hays County. 

“Our area is trending lower and that’s a good thing,” county Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said, “but we still have a long way to go. We continue urging Hays County community members to wear masks, wash hands and stay distanced from others. These are simple, easy things we can do together to help slow the spread of the virus.”

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases with nine less than Friday. The city currently has 1,200 active cases and has had 2,523 total cases.

Kyle now has 907 active cases and has had 1,612 total. Buda has recorded 694 total cases and currently has 369 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 83 total cases, including 27 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 87 total cases and has 67 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 27 active cases and has had 46 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 32 total cases and has 29 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 15 total cases and has 10 active cases. 

Mountain City has had nine total cases and has six active cases. Maxwell has had nine total cases, including one active case. 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 with 2,020 total cases recorded Monday. 

Eight-hundred-seventy-three county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-thirty-three people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Four-hundred-eighty residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-twenty-five county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 293 are 60-69 years old, 177 are 9 years old or younger, 171 are 70-79 years old and 78 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,698 females and 2,452 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.3% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37.8% are Hispanic and 18.1% 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 Services reported that there have now been 542,950 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 10,034 fatalities and there are 6,200 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 405,817 Texans 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.