2 Hays County residents die of COVID-19; 49 new cases tallied Friday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported two COVID-19-related fatalities on Friday. 

Hays County stated that a San Marcos man in his 60s and a Buda man in his 50s died, raising the coronavirus-related death toll to 245. 

The local health department also recorded 116 additional recoveries from COVID-19, 49 new lab-confirmed cases, five hospital discharges and four hospitalizations on Friday, which included information from May 13-14. 

The county considers 329 cases active — 69 fewer than Wednesday — and there have been 18,683 total cases since the onset of the pandemic. Hays County has tallied 622 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,046 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through May 14, 2021.

Fifteen county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 873 total hospitalizations with the fluctuation in hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Friday. 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.

There have been 18,109 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus following the 116 recoveries recorded Friday.

The local health department has received 166,130 negative tests and there have been 184,813 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 16 new cases between Thursday and Friday. The city currently has 123 active cases — an 18-case decrease since Wednesday — and there have been 6,667 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 5,951 total cases, including 99 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,326 total cases and currently has 53 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 903 total cases and has 16 active cases. Wimberley has counted 735 total cases, including 11 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 11 active cases and has had 564 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 239 total cases and has five active cases. Niederwald has had 98 total cases and currently has three active cases. Maxwell has had 73 total cases and four active cases. Mountain City has amassed 47 total cases. Including one active case. Uhland has had 34 total cases with one case considered active. Manchaca has one active case and has recorded 26 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied nine total cases. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. Creedmoor has recorded four total cases, including one active case. Hays has reported three total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 5,297 total cases tallied Friday. 

According to the local health department, 2,901 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old; 2,816 are 30-39 years old; 2,521 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,838 are between 50-59 years old; 1,235 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,177 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Five-hundred-sixty-seven residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 331 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 9,791 females and 8,892 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.3% are unknown or not specified, 3.2% are Black, 1% are Asian, 1% are listed as other and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have been 2,496,002 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 49,835 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 2,323 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,854 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,592 among students and 262 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 43 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported three active COVID-19 cases for the week of April 26 — three among students. 

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. The state is allowing all adults to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine effective March 29. According to the DSHS, 101,470 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of publication, while 79,465 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older. Although Texans ages 12-15 are now eligible to receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the DSHS has yet to factor that age group into the eligible population. In Hays County, 52 residents between 12-15 years old have received their first vaccine dose as of Friday.