Hays County tallies 51 COVID-19 recoveries, 21 new cases Friday

The Hays County Local Health Department recorded 51 additional recoveries from COVID-19, 21 new cases, four hospital discharges and one hospitalization on Friday. 

There are currently 2,348 active COVID-19 cases — 30 fewer than Thursday — and there have been 5,361 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14. 

With the 51 newly reported recoveries, 2,967 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

There are currently 14 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus following the fluctuation in hospitalizations and discharges. The county has reported 142 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 reported 46 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries. 

The county has received 24,021 negative tests and is awaiting results from 31 tests. There have been 29,408 tests administered in Hays County. 

Free COVID-19 testing through the Texas Division of Emergency Management is currently taking place in Hays County at two locations simultaneously — San Marcos High School, 2601 Rattler Road, and Hays CISD Performing Arts Center in Kyle. Testing began Monday and lasts through Saturday, taking place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but saw a decrease Friday with 29 less cases than Thursday.  The city currently has 996 active cases and has had 2,630 total cases.

Kyle now has 866 active cases and has had 1,662 total. Buda has recorded 723 total cases and currently has 354 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 91 total cases and has 65 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 87 total cases, including 27 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 30 active cases and has had 53 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 36 total cases and has 16 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 19 total cases and has 13 active cases. Mountain City has had 10 total cases and has seven active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases. Manchaca has had nine total cases and three 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 2,079 total cases recorded Friday. 

Nine-hundred-two county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-fifty-five people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Five-hundred-three residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-fifty-six county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 309 are 60-69 years old, 183 are 9 years old or younger, 182 are 70-79 years old and 92 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,799 females and 2,562 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.6% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37% are Hispanic and 18.4% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.8% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 36.8% are unknown or not specified, 2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Friday that there have now been 601,768 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 12,266 fatalities and there are 4,422 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 484,880 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.