Kyle woman dies of COVID-19; County reports 43 new cases Wednesday

A Kyle woman in her 40s has died from COVID-19, marking the 126th coronavirus-related in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department reported an additional 43 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 26 recoveries, five hospitalizations and two hospital discharges on Wednesday. 

Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said county residents should continue to take precautions against coronavirus exposure. 

“The best advice we can offer is staying home unless necessary, avoiding contact with people outside of your household and celebrating New Year’s at home this year,” Schneider said. “These steps can help us avoid another surge of cases and hospitalizations.” 

There are currently 1,754 active COVID-19 cases — 16 more cases than Tuesday — and there have been 10,524 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus on March 14. There have been 2,283 active cases over the last 21 days — a three-case decrease since Tuesday. The county stated that there have been 1,228 probable cases spanning from April through Dec. 30.

There are currently 49 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 550 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation in 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. 

There have been 8,644 county residents who have recovered from the disease as of Wednesday.

The local health department has received 74,011 negative tests and there have been 84,535 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos currently has 526 active cases and there have been 4,198 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 3,262 total cases, including 566 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,764 total cases and currently has 362 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 433 total cases and has 105 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 64 active cases and has had 269 total cases. Wimberley has tallied 323 total cases, including 68 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 129 total cases and has 28 active cases. Niederwald has had 52 total cases and has 11 active cases. Uhland has had 25 total cases and currently has two active cases. Manchaca has recorded 17 total cases, including six active cases. Maxwell has had 15 total cases and has six active cases. 

Bear Creek has tallied four total cases. Creedmoor has one active case and has had three total. Woodcreek has had two total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 3,304 total cases tallied as of Wednesday.

According to the local health department, 1,659 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, 1,392 people are 40-49 years old and 1,382 residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range and 1,039 are between 50-59 years old.

Six-hundred-sixty-three county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 549 are 9 years old or younger, 331 are 70-79 years old and 205 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 5,513 females and 5,011 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 46.2% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 31% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 22.8% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 70% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.5% are unknown or not specified, 2.5% are Black, 1% are American Indian and 0.7% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,518,499 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 26,762 fatalities as of Tuesday. There are currently 11,775 Texans hospitalized by 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.