San Marcos woman dies from COVID-19, marking 55th fatality

A San Marcos woman in her 50s has died from COVID-19, marking the 55th coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department also reported an additional 71 recoveries from COVID-19, 45 new lab-confirmed tests, 13 hospital discharges and two hospitalizations on Monday, which included  information provided throughout the weekend. 

There are currently 1,528 active coronavirus cases — 27 fewer than Friday — and there have been 5,916 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in Hays County on March 14. The county also reported that there have been 445 active cases over the last 21 days. 

Following the 13 hospital discharges and two hospitalizations announced Monday, there are currently eight county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 343 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. 

With the 71 newly reported recoveries, 4,333 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 26,635 negative tests and there have been 32,551 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but is no longer the city with the most active cases. The city currently has 461 active cases — 12 less than Friday — and has had 2,996 total cases as of Monday.

Kyle now has 688 active cases and has had 1,761 total. Buda has recorded 782 total cases and currently has 259 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 97 total cases, including 17 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 96 total cases and has 49 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 21 active cases and has had 62 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 39 total cases and has 14 active cases. Niederwald has had 32 total cases and there are two active cases. Uhland has had 20 total cases and has eight active cases. Mountain City has had 11 total cases and has five active cases. 

Manchaca has had nine total cases and has three active cases. Maxwell has had nine total cases. Bear Creek and Woodcreek each have had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,240 total cases tallied as of Monday. 

Nine-hundred-fifty county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-ninety people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Six-hundred-sixty-two residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. Five-hundred-thirty-eight county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 337 are 60-69 years old, 198 are 70-79 years old, 197 are 9 years old or younger and 104 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,092 females and 2,824 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 43.5% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 37.8% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 18.8% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 60.5% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 36.7% are unknown or not specified, 2.2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Monday that there have now been 739,743 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 15,522 fatalities and there are 3,217 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 657,407 Texans have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 629 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 588 among students and 41 among faculty and staff — as of press time Monday. 

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.