Hays County tallies 78 new COVID-19 cases, 44 recoveries Tuesday

The  Hays County Local Health Department announced 78 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 44 additional recoveries, seven hospitalizations and three hospital discharges on Tuesday. 

There are currently 636 active coronavirus cases — a 34-case increase since Monday — and there have been 6,798 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14. The local health department also reported that there have been 738 active cases over the last 21 days — a 12-case increase since Monday. The county reported that there have been 818 probable cases spanning from April through early November.

“We hope everyone will remember that hand washing, wearing masks and social distancing are very effective at protecting the most vulnerable in our communities,” Hays County Epidemiologist Greggory Drew said. “We do these things for each other, not for ourselves.”

There are currently 10 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 410 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Tuesday. 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 now had 6,070 residents recover from the disease as of Tuesday. 

There have been 92 coronavirus-related fatalities reported in Hays County since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries. 

The local health department has received 43,520 negative tests and there have been 50,318 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos, which has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county, recorded a five-case increase in active cases Tuesday. There are currently 99 active COVID-19 cases and there have been 3,064.

Kyle has tallied 2,116 total cases, including 245 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,030 total cases and currently has 165 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 182 total cases and has 56 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 134 total cases, including 17 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 29 active cases and has had 114 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 64 total cases and has 15 active cases. Niederwald has had 32 total cases and has two active cases. Uhland has had 23 total cases and one active case. Mountain City has had 16 total cases and has five active cases.

Maxwell has had nine total cases. Manchaca has had eight total cases. Bear Creek has one active case and has had three total cases. Woodcreek has had two total cases and has one active case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,356 total cases tallied as of Tuesday.

According to the local health department, 1,074 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Eight-hundred-fifty-two people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Eight-hundred-thirty-eight residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. 

Six-hundred-forty-four county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 414 are 60-69 years old, 228 are 70-79 years old, 257 are 9 years old or younger and 135 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,538 females and 3,260 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 45.4% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 29.8% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 24.8% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 65.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 31.7% are unknown or not specified, 2.4% are Black and 0.5% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there have now been 1,039,513 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 19,579 fatalities and an estimated 883,223 recoveries from the disease as of Tuesday. There are currently 7,468 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 978 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 917 among students and 61 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Tuesday. There are currently 118 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

As San Marcos Consolidated ISD brought back students at roughly 55% capacity in November, the district is reporting 11 active COVID-19 cases — nine among faculty and staff and four among students.

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.