2 Hays County men die of COVID-19; County reports 348 new cases Monday

Two Hays County men recently died from COVID-19, marking the 297th and 298th coronavirus-related fatalities. 

The Hays County Local Health Department reported that one resident who died was a San Marcos man in his 70s and one was a Kyle man in his 50s. 

The local health department tallied 348 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 315 additional recoveries, 13 hospital discharges and eight hospitalizations on Monday, which included information from over the weekend. 

Hays County considers 2,262 cases active — 31 more than Friday — and there have been 24,107 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

Hays County has tallied 3,169 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,696 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Aug. 23, 2021.

Fifty county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 41 who are unvaccinated and nine who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 41 citizens hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 19 are in the ICU and on a ventilator, 14 are not in the ICU, and eight are in the ICU and not currently on a ventilator. Additionally, eight of the county residents hospitalized who are vaccinated are not in the ICU, while one is in the ICU on a ventilator. There have been 1,134 total hospitalizations as of Monday.

There have been 21,547 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 315 recoveries tallied Monday.

The local health department has received 215,174 negative tests and there have been 239,281 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Monday's report was approximately 22.3%. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services has conducted random testing for positive cases of the Delta variant and there has been one confirmed positive Delta case detected in Hays County. The county, however, stated that the case is no longer considered active.

San Marcos recorded 132 new cases Monday. The city currently has 801 active cases — 43 more than Friday — and there have been 8,303 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 7,853 total cases, including 806 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,347 total cases and currently has 354 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,185 total cases and has 72 active cases. Wimberley has counted 1,067 total cases, including 116 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 685 total cases and has 54 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 329 total cases with 38 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 114 total cases, including five active cases. Mountain City has amassed 67 total cases with nine currently considered active. Maxwell has had 56 total cases with one active case. Uhland has had 42 total cases and has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 29 total cases.

Woodcreek has one active case and has recorded 12 total. Creedmoor has recorded eight total cases, including two active cases. Bear Creek has amassed seven total cases with two cases considered active. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 6,545 total cases tallied as of Monday. There are currently 534 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 3,809 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 394 with active cases; 3,763 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 397 cases considered active; 3,285 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 306 cases considered active; 2,339 are between 50-59 years old, including 193 active cases; 1,751 are 9 years old or younger with 235 cases considered active; and 1,493 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 132 are considered active cases.

Seven-hundred-twenty-six Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 49 active cases; and 396 are 80 and older with 22 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 12,541 females and 11,566 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,137 active cases among males in the county and there are 1,125 active cases among females. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 50% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 15% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.5% are unknown or not specified, 3.1% are Black, 1% are listed as other, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 4,809 lab-confirmed cases Monday. There have now been 2,914,188 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 54,023 fatalities as of Monday. There are currently 13,346 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Monday is 16.19%.

At Texas State University there have been 187 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 146 among students and 41 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 131 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

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.

COVID-19 VACCINE SIGNUP

To make an appointment for a vaccine shot, visit https://www.haysinformed.com. From there you can use the new online scheduler to find a time and location that works best for you. According to the DSHS, 112,289 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, approximately 57.29% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 135,437 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 69.1% of the eligible population.

“No appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available Monday-Monday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway, in San Marcos between 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at this clinic. 

A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Monday between 9 a.m.-12 p.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, San Marcos Family Medicine and Sam’s Club Pharmacy. Visit https://hayscountytx.com/covid-19-information-for-hays-county-residents/ to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.