Hays County tallies 229 recoveries, 111 new cases on New Year’s Eve

The Hays County Local Health Department tallied 229 recoveries from COVID-19 and 111 new lab-confirmed cases on Thursday. 

Epidemiologist Ian Harris said county residents should “do their part” to slow the spread of the coronavirus, recommending small New Year’s Eve celebrations at home with people in their own household or virtual events with friends and family. 

“I understand how much we all want to be with our family and friends, especially on New Year’s Eve but by being proactive now, we can avoid another surge and more hospitalizations in January,” Harris said. 

There are currently 1,636 active COVID-19 cases — 118 fewer than Wednesday — and there have been 10,635 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus on March 14. There have been 2,301 active cases over the last 21 days — an 18-case increase since Wednesday. The county stated that there have been 1,239 probable cases spanning from April through Dec. 31.

There are currently 49 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 550 total hospitalizations as of Thursday. 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 8,873 county residents who have recovered from the disease as of Thursday 

The county has seen 126 fatalities from COVID-19 in 2020. 

The local health department has received 75,538 negative tests and there have been 86,173 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos saw 34 new cases reported Thursday but saw a decrease in active cases. There are currently 479 active cases — 47 fewer than Wednesday —  and there have been 4,232 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 3,286 total cases, including 513 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,783 total cases and currently has 350 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 447 total cases and has 101 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 59 active cases and has had 277 total cases. Wimberley has tallied 328 total cases, including 70 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 135 total cases and has 32 active cases. Niederwald has had 52 total cases and has nine active cases. Mountain City has amassed 29 cases and 10 currenlty active cases. Uhland has had 25 total cases and currently has two active cases. Manchaca has recorded 17 total cases, including five active cases. Maxwell has had 15 total cases and has five active cases. 

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

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 3,327 total cases tallied as of Thursday.

According to the local health department, 1,680 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, 1,413 people are 40-49 years old and 1,394 residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range and 1,053 are between 50-59 years old.

Six-hundred-seventy county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 551 are 9 years old or younger, 341 are 70-79 years old and 206 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 5,579 females and 5,056 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 46.2% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 31.1% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 22.7% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 70.2% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.4% are unknown or not specified, 2.5% are Black, 0.7% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian,

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,551,250 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 27,437 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 12,268 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.