2 Hays County residents die from COVID-19; 119 cases recorded Thursday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported two additional COVID-19-related fatalities, raising the coronavirus death toll to 195. 

The county stated that the two residents who died were a Buda man in his 50s and a San Marcos man in his 40s. 

The local health department also tallied 119 new lab-confirmed cases, 33 recoveries, nine hospital discharges and eight hospitalizations on Thursday. 

The county states that 2,000 COVID-19 cases are considered active — an 84-case increase since Wednesday — and there have been 15,285 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,067 active cases over the last 21 days as of Thursday. The county stated that there have been 1,734 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Feb. 4, 2021.

There are currently 39 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 694 total hospitalizations as of Thursday. 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 Hays County, the local health department said. 

With the 33 additional recoveries tallied Thursday, 13,090 county residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 109,831 negative tests and there have been 125,116 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 35 new cases Thursday. The city currently has 535 active cases — 20 more cases than Wednesday — and there have been 5,540 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 4,914 total cases, including 737 active cases. Buda has recorded 2,692 total cases and currently has 356 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 691 total cases and has 115 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 581 total cases, including 109 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 93 active cases and has had 433 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 191 total cases and has 23 active cases. Niederwald has had 88 total cases and has eight active cases. Maxwell has had 50 total cases and has 17 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 36 cases and two currently active cases. Uhland has had 29 total cases and currently has two active cases. Manchaca has recorded 19 total cases and has one active case.

Creedmoor has had nine total cases, including one active case. Woodcreek has one active case and has tallied five total. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,419 total cases tallied as of Thursday.

According to the local health department, 2,373 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,189 are 10-19 years old; 2,059 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; and 1,546 are between 50-59 years old.

Nine-hundred-ninety-two county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 938 are 9 years old or younger, 494 are 70-79 years old and 275 are 80 and older.

The local health department reports that 7,970 females and 7,315 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 48.9% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 33.4% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 17.7% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.8% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,132,593 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 37,727 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 10,523 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,983 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,774 among students and 209 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Thursday.  There are currently 188 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 17 active COVID-19 cases — 10 among students and seven among staff — for the week of Jan. 25-29.

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.