Kyle woman dies from COVID-19; County reports 35 new cases

The Hays County Local Health Department announced one new COVID-19 related fatality, 35 new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases, 54 additional recoveries, one hospital discharge and no new hospitalizations on Wednesday. 

There are currently 616 active coronavirus cases — a 20-case decrease since Tuesday — and there have been 6,833 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 750 active cases over the last 21 days — a 12-case increase since Tuesday. The county reported that there have been 824 probable cases spanning from April through early November.

“We encourage everybody to be safe during the holidays by limiting large family gatherings, washing your hands and wearing a mask,” Hays County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said. “These actions are our best defense for limiting the spread of COVID-19.”

There are currently nine county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 410 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Wednesday. 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 6,124 residents recover from the disease as of Wednesday. 

There have been 93 coronavirus-related fatalities reported in Hays County since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries. 

The local health department has received 44,094 negative tests and there have been 50,927 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos, which has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county, recorded a 12-case decrease in active cases Wednesday. There are currently 87 active COVID-19 cases and there have been 3,068 total cases.

Kyle has tallied 2,136 total cases, including 250 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,035 total cases and currently has 158 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 186 total cases and has 56 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 135 total cases, including 17 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 26 active cases and has had 115 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 64 total cases and has 14 active cases. Niederwald has had 32 total cases and has two active cases. Uhland has had 23 total 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 2,361 total cases tallied as of Wednesday.

According to the local health department, 1,078 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Eight-hundred-sixty-one people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Eight-hundred-forty-five residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. 

Six-hundred-forty-six county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 418 are 60-69 years old, 230 are 70-79 years old, 259 are 9 years old or younger and 135 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,552 females and 3,281 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 29.7% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 24.9% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 65.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 31.6% are unknown or not specified, 2.4% are Black and 0.6% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there have now been 1,048,383 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 19,883 fatalities and an estimated 889,099 recoveries from the disease as of Wednesday. There are currently 7,958 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 Wednesday. 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.