1 Hays County resident dies of COVID-19; County report 1,416 new cases Monday

A Buda woman in her 60s recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Monday. 

Hays County has recorded 447 COVID-19-related fatalities since the pandemic’s onset. 

An additional 1,416 lab-confirmed cases, 22 hospitalizations and 15 hospital discharges were reported by the local health department in Monday’s report, which included information from Jan. 29-31. 

The county considers 8,448 cases active — 1,415 more than reported Friday — and there have been 47,841 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. There have been 5,738 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Jan. 31, 2022.

Thirty-five county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 22 who are unvaccinated and 13 who are vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 22 residents hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 15 are non-ICU patients, five are in the ICU and not on a ventilator and two are in the ICU and on a ventilator. Additionally, 11 of the residents who are hospitalized and vaccinated are non-ICU patients and two are currently in the ICU and not on a ventilator. There have been 1,577 total hospitalizations as of Monday.

The county has tallied 38,946 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus.

The local health department has received 338,496 negative tests and there have been 386,337 tests administered in the county. The positivity rate for Monday's report was approximately 31.34%. Following its weekly data audit, the county removed 172 cases from its total case count, including 10 hospitalizations, for out-of-county or duplicate data.

As the pandemic continues, the local health department stresses the importance of taking precautions to limit the spread, including frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing a mask indoors around large groups of people.

San Marcos has 2,582 active cases — 452 more than recorded Friday — and there have been 15,578 total cases as of Monday.

Kyle has recorded 15,614 total cases, including 2,911 active cases. Buda has tallied 9,193 total cases and currently has 1,689 active cases. Wimberley has counted 2,676 total cases, including 527 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 2,007 total cases and has 287 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 1,283 total cases and has 174 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 693 total cases with 174 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 221 total cases including 34 active cases. Maxwell has had 216 total cases, including 65 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 124 total cases and has 21 active cases. Uhland has had 113 total cases with 21 considered active. Manchaca has recorded 79 total cases and eight active cases. Woodcreek has recorded 15 total cases, including two active cases. Creedmoor has recorded 18 total cases with eight considered active. 

Bear Creek has amassed eight total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 11,901 total cases tallied as of Monday. There are currently 1,722 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 7,853 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 1,455 with active cases; 7,838 county residents who’ve contracted COVID-19 have been between 10-19 years old, including 1,437 cases considered active; 6,627 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 1,224 cases considered active; 4,406 are between 50-59 years old, including 742 active cases; 4,334 are 9 years old or younger with 983 cases considered active; and 2,871 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 554 are considered active cases.

The local health department has tallied 1,383 Hays County residents who are 70-79 years old and have contracted COVID-19, including 242 active cases; and 628 cases among residents who are 80 and older with 89 cases currently active.

There have been 25,617 total coronavirus cases among females and 22,224 among males in Hays County. There are currently 4,705 active cases among females in the county and 3,743 active cases among males.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 38% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 13% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 20.6% are unknown or not specified, 4.9 % are listed as other, 3.7% are Black, 1.3% are Asian and 0.2% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 23,582 lab-confirmed cases Monday. There have now been 5,182,291 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 78,160 fatalities as of Monday. There are currently 12,121 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Monday is 28.78%.

At Texas State University there have been 3,834 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 3,184 among students and 650 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 545 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

VACCINE AVAILABILITY

In Hays County, “no appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available. Vaccines usually offered Monday-Friday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway won’t be available until further notice, according to the Hays County Local Health Department. A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Friday between 11-8 a.m. and 1-3 p.m.

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in San Marcos at multiple CVS pharmacies, multiple Walgreens pharmacies, both H-E-B pharmacies, MedPark Pharmacy, B&J Pharmacy, San Marcos Family Medicine and Sam’s Club Pharmacy. Visit https://www.vaccines.gov to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.

According to the DSHS, 138,841 county residents are considered fully vaccinated — 64.48% of 215,309 eligible residents who are 5 years or older as of Monday. The DSHS stated that 163,789 Hays County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose — 76.07% of eligible residents. Additionally, the DSHS stated that 52,131 Hays County citizens have received an additional vaccine dose as of Monday.