San Marcos woman dies from COVID-19; County reports 70 new cases

A San Marcos woman has died from COVID-19, marking the 25th coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County.

The Hays County Local Health Department stated that the woman who died was in her 80s and was hospitalized at the time of her death. 

The local health department also reported 70 new COVID-19 cases, 46 additional recoveries and five hospitalizations Monday. 

There are currently 3,000 active cases — a 23-case increase since Friday — and there have been 4,203 total cases since the first virus diagnosis within the county on March 14. 

Hays County currently has 24 residents hospitalized by the coronavirus and has had 98 total hospitalizations. According to county Epidemiologist Eric Schneider, 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.

With the additional 46 recoveries reported Monday, 1,178 county residents have recovered from the disease. 

The local health department has received 21,109 negative COVID-19 tests and is awaiting results from 66 tests. 

“COVID-19 is still here and still spreading in Hays County,” Schneider said in a statement. “If you don’t need to go out, stay home. If you go out, the best course of action is frequent hand washing, wearing a mask and staying six feet apart from others.”

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases with two less cases than Friday. The city currently has 1,521 active cases and has had 2,153 total cases.

Kyle now has 887 active cases and has had 1,240 total. Buda has recorded 554 total cases and currently has 404 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 75 total cases and has 62 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 67 total cases, including 41 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 30 active cases and has had 42 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 29 total cases and has 27 active cases. Niederwald has had 17 total cases and has 10 active cases. Uhland has had 10 total cases and has nine active cases. 

Maxwell has had six total cases, including four active cases. Mountain City has had five total cases and has two active cases. Manchaca has had three 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 1,806. Six-hundred-ninety-eight county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Four-hundred-seventy-nine people diagnosed with the disease are 40-49 years old. Three-hundred-seventy-eight residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Three-hundred-three county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are between 10-19 years old, 229 are 60-69 years old, 132 are 9 years old or younger, 113 are 70-79 years old and 68 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,200 females and 2,003 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 41.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 40.5% are Hispanic and 18% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 55.1% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 42.3% are unknown or not specified, 2.1% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday that 385,923 Texans have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, there have been 5,713 fatalities and there have been an estimated 229,107 Texans who have recovered from the disease. There are currently 9,781 Texans hospitalized by the virus.

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.