Hays County surpasses 10,000 COVID-19 case mark following Christmas holiday

A Buda man and a Dripping Springs man — both in their 70s  — died from COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Monday. 

The county has now recorded 124 coronavirus-related fatalities. The local health department also reported an additional 437 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 310 recoveries, 28 hospitalizations and 23 hospital discharges on Monday, which included information from Dec. 23-28. 

Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the county and urges residents to take all precautions necessary to avoid exposure, including washing hands and wearing masks. 

“One of the best things we can do for each other and our community is avoiding parties and getting together in large groups,” Schneider said, adding that gatherings of people outside their households is the primary spread of COVID-19. “While it may not be as fun to stay home, stopping the spread will help us get back to normal sooner. It can also reduce the number of people who need to be hospitalized.” 

There are currently 1,553 active coronavirus cases — 125 more cases reported since the local health department’s last report on Dec. 22 — and there have been 10,074 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus. Included in the new data reported Monday were 476 previously unreported tests from the county’s Curative testing sites from November through early December. The cases reported from Curative are not tallied in the active count because they are all more than three weeks old. 

The local health department also reported that there have been 2,048 active cases over the last 21 days — a 156-case increase since Dec. 22. The county stated that there have been 1,169 probable cases spanning from April through Dec. 28.

There are currently 32 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 527 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation in hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Monday. 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. 

There have been 8,397 county residents who have recovered from the disease as of Tuesday.

The local health department has received 71,585 negative tests and there have been 81,659 tests administered in Hays County. Following its weekly audit, the county removed 14 cases from the cumulative total for reasons including incorrect county and duplicates.

San Marcos currently has 468 active cases — 42 more than Dec. 22 — and there have been 4,052 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 3,147 total cases, including 521 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,661 total cases and currently has 312 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 403 total cases and has 88 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 51 active cases and has had 249 total cases. Wimberley has tallied 302 total cases, including 54 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 122 total cases and has 28 active cases. Niederwald has had 50 total cases and has 11 active cases. Uhland has had 24 total cases and currently has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 17 total cases, including seven active cases. Maxwell has had 14 total cases and has five active cases. 

Bear Creek has tallied four total cases. Creedmoor has two active cases and has had three total. Woodcreek has had two total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 3,177 total cases tallied as of Monday.

According to the local health department, 1,593 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, while 1,327 people who have contracted the coronavirus are 40-49 years old and 1,326 residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. 

Nine-hundred-ninety county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 628 are 60-69 years old, 510 are 9 years old or younger, 321 are 70-79 years old and 202 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 5,266 females and 4,808 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 45.9% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 30.7% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 23.5% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 70.2% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.4% are unknown or not specified, 2.6% are Black, 0.7% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,490,479 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 26,521 fatalities as of Monday. Texas recorded an all-time high in hospitalizations with 11,351 Texans hospitalized by 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.