San Marcos woman dies from COVID-19; County tallies 14 new cases

A San Marcos woman in her 80s has died from complications caused by COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Wednesday. 

The county said she had been hospitalized at the time of her death. There have now been 46 coronavirus-related fatalities in Hays County since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14. 

The local health department also announced that 27 additional county residents have now recovered from the disease alongside 14 new lab-confirmed cases, four hospitalizations and four hospital discharges tallied Wednesday. 

There are currently 2,379 active COVID-19 cases — 14 fewer than Tuesday — and there have been 5,322 total cases since March 14. 

With the 27 recoveries reported Wednesday, 2,897 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

There are currently 17 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus, following the fluctuations in hospitalizations and hospital discharges. There have been 142 total hospitalizations. 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.

The county has received 23,782 negative tests and is awaiting results from 29 tests. There have been 29,133 tests administered in Hays County. 

Free COVID-19 testing through the Texas Division of Emergency Management is currently taking place in Hays County at two locations simultaneously — San Marcos High School, 2601 Rattler Road, and Hays CISD Performing Arts Center in Kyle. Testing began Monday and lasts through Saturday, taking place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but saw a decrease Wednesday with 15 less cases than Tuesday.  The city currently has 1,005 active cases and has had 2,609 total cases.

Kyle now has 862 active cases and has had 1,654 total. Buda has recorded 716 total cases and currently has 350 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 90 total cases and has 65 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 86 total cases, including 26 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 31 active cases and has had 52 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 36 total cases and has 16 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 19 total cases and has 13 active cases. Mountain City has had 10 total cases and has seven active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases. Manchaca has had nine total cases and three 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 2,068 total cases recorded Wednesday. 

Eight-hundred-ninety-five county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-fifty-one people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Five-hundred-one residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-forty-five county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 306 are 60-69 years old, 182 are 9 years old or younger, 182 are 70-79 years old and 92 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,775 females and 2,547 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.6% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 37.1% are Hispanic and 18.4% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.8% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 36.8% are unknown or not specified, 2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday that there have now been 592,137 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 11,576 fatalities and there are 4,806 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 472,421 Texans have recovered from 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.