Hays County reports 47 COVID-19 recoveries, 20 new cases Friday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported 47 additional COVID-19 recoveries, 20 new lab-confirmed cases and two hospitalizations on Friday.

There are currently 2,425 active COVID-19 cases — 27 fewer than Thursday — and there have been 5,250 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in Hays County on March 14. 

With the 47 recoveries reported Friday, 2,780 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

There are currently 20 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus. There have been 134 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.

Hays County has tallied 45 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the disease within its boundaries. 

The local health department has received 23,411 negative tests and is awaiting results from 37 tests. There have been 28,698 tests administered in Hays County. 

Free COVID-19 through the Texas Division of Emergency Management has been scheduled in Hays County at two locations simultaneously — San Marcos High School, 2601 Rattler Road, and Hays CISD Performing Arts Center in Kyle. The county stated that testing will take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Aug. 24-29. 

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases with 20 less than Thursday. The city currently has 1,043 active cases and has had 2,565 total cases.

Kyle now has 870 active cases and has had 1,643 total. Buda has recorded 708 total cases and currently has 350 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 89 total cases and has 67 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 85 total cases, including 27 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 27 active cases and has had 48 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 36 total cases and has 19 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 17 total cases and has 11 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 2,043 total cases recorded Thursday. 

Eight-hundred-eighty-six county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-forty-one people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Four-hundred-ninety-one residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-thirty-five county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 303 are 60-69 years old, 182 are 9 years old or younger, 179 are 70-79 years old and 90 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,743 females and 2,507 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37.3% are Hispanic and 18.2% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.8% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 36.7% are unknown or not specified, 2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 5021 new COVID-19 cases and 258 additional fatalities on Friday. The DSHS reports that there have now been 567,580 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 11,051 fatalities and there are 5,566 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 438,825 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.