Hays County tallies 67 COVID-19 recoveries, 16 additional cases

The Hays County Local Health Department reported 67 COVID-19 recoveries, 16 new cases and one hospital discharge on Tuesday.

There are currently 2,736 active coronavirus cases — 51 less than Monday — and there have been 5,066 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within the county on March 14. 

With the 67 recoveries reported Tuesday, 2,295 Hays County residents have recovered from the disease.

There are currently 19 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus following the one hospital discharge announced Tuesday. There have been 124 total hospitalizations. Hays County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider added that 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 county has recorded 35 COVID-19 related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries. 

The local health department has received 22,518 negative tests and is awaiting results from 38 tests. There have been 27,622 tests administered in Hays County. 

“Decreasing cases are a good thing but we know this pandemic isn’t over,” Schneider said in a statement. “Everyone needs to continue taking all the necessary safety precautions to continue to 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 43 less than Monday. The city currently has 1,261 active cases and has had 2,501 total cases.

Kyle now has 921 active cases and has had 1,569 total. Buda has recorded 681 total cases and currently has 374 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 83 total cases, including 32 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 81 total cases and has 66 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 30 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, including one active case. Uhland has had 15 total cases and has 10 active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases, including three active cases.  Mountain City has had nine total cases and has six active cases. 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 2,007 total cases recorded Tuesday. Eight-hundred-sixty-two county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-twenty people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Four-hundred-sixty-six residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-seventeen county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 282 are 60-69 years old, 174 are 9 years old or younger, 162 are 70-79 years old and 76 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,655 females and 2,411 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37.9% are Hispanic and 17.9% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.6% 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 Service reported 9,803 new coronavirus cases and 220 additional fatalities Tuesday. According to the DSHS, there have now been 500,620 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 8,710 fatalities and there are 7,216 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 358,312 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.