Kyle man dies from COVID-19; County reports 71 new cases Friday

A Kyle man in his 90s died from COVID-19, marking the 96th coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department also reported 71 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 47 additional recoveries, four hospitalizations and three hospital discharges on Friday. 

There are currently 671 active coronavirus cases — a 23-case decrease since Thursday — and there have been 6,960 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14. Ten cases were removed from Hays County's cumulative COVID-19 total due to duplications, incorrect county and other issues, the county said Friday. The local health department also reported that there have been 865 active cases over the last 21 days — a 55-case increase since Thursday. The county reported that there have been 837 probable cases spanning from April through mid November. 

“We all want to be with family, but we also need to remember that we’re still in a pandemic,” Hays County Epidemiologist Greggory Drew said. “Our goal as a community should be protecting the elderly and at-risk community; that may include virtual or very limited gatherings.” 

There are currently 12 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 418 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Friday. 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 6,193 residents recover from the disease as of Friday. 

The local health department has received 45,783 negative tests and there have been 52,743 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos, which has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county, recorded a one-case increase in active cases Friday. There are currently 89 active COVID-19 cases and there have been 3,081 total cases.

Kyle has tallied 2,199 total cases, including 292 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,068 total cases and currently has 172 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 201 total cases and has 59 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 135 total cases, including 13 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 25 active cases and has had 118 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 64 total cases and has 13 active cases. Niederwald has had 32 total cases and has two active cases. Uhland has had 23 total cases and no active cases. 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 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 2,383 total cases tallied as of Friday.

According to the local health department, 1,094 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Eight-hundred-eighty people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Eight-hundred-fifty-six residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. 
Six-hundred-sixty county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 426 are 60-69 years old, 238 are 70-79 years old, 268 are 9 years old or younger and 155 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,624 females and 3,336 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 45.6% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 29% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 25.4% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 66.1% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 31% are unknown or not specified, 2.3% are Black and 0.6% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there have now been 1,060,883 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 20,113 fatalities and an estimated 896,191 recoveries from the disease as of Thursday. There are currently 7,982 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 993 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 931 among students and 62 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Friday. There are currently 114 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.