2 Hays County women die of COVID-19, 195 new cases recorded Wednesday

Two Hays County women recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Wednesday. 

One woman who died was a Kyle resident in her 80s, while one was a San Marcos resident in her 60s. Hays County has now recorded 322 coronavirus-related fatalities since the pandemic’s onset. 

The local health department also tallied 195 new lab-confirmed cases, 189 additional recoveries, 18 hospitalizations and four hospital discharges on Wednesday. 

Hays County considers 2,123 cases active — four more than Tuesday — and there have been 25,596 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. The county has tallied 3,349 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,801 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Sept. 1, 2021.

Sixty-nine county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 58 who are unvaccinated and 11 who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 58 citizens hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 20 are in the ICU and on a ventilator, 27 are non-ICU patients and 11 are in the ICU and not currently on a ventilator. Additionally, 10 of the county residents hospitalized who are vaccinated are non-ICU patients, while one is in the ICU and on a ventilator. There have been 1,201 total hospitalizations as of Wednesday.

There have been 23,151 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 189 recoveries tallied Wednesday.

The local health department has received 225,143 negative tests and there have been 250,739 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Wednesday's report was approximately 13.52%.

San Marcos recorded 25 new cases Wednesday. The city currently has 706 active cases — 24 fewer than Tuesday — and there have been 8,798 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 8,299 total cases, including 666 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,621 total cases and currently has 384 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,258 total cases and has 101 active cases. Wimberley has counted 1,182 total cases, including 148 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 716 total cases and has 47 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 368 total cases with 51 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 120 total cases, including nine active cases. Mountain City has amassed 71 total cases with five currently considered active. Maxwell has had 56 total cases. Uhland has had 46 total cases and has four active cases. Manchaca has recorded 31 total cases with two currently considered active.

Woodcreek has recorded 12 total. Creedmoor has recorded eight total cases. Bear Creek has amassed seven total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 6,836 total cases tallied as of Wednesday. There are currently 435 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 4,121 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 488 cases considered active; 4,039 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 348 with active cases; 3,468 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 276 cases considered active; 2,449 are between 50-59 years old, including 147 active cases; 1,932 are 9 years old or younger with 247 cases considered active; and 1,587 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 135 are considered active cases.

Seven-hundred-forty-seven Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 30 active cases; and 417 are 80 and older with 17 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 13,311 females and 12,285 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,068 active cases among females in the county and there are 1,055 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.5% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14.3% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 68.9% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.9% are unknown or not specified, 3.2% are Black, 1% are Asian, 0.9% are listed as other and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 17,033 lab-confirmed cases Wednesday. There have now been 3,039,912 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 55,955 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 13,895 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Wednesday is 15.02%.

At Texas State University there have been 681 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 622 among students and 59 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 442 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 27 active COVID-19 cases for the week of Aug. 23-27 — 21 among 8,000 SMCISD students and seven among 1,230 faculty and staff members. 

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, 115,329 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, approximately 58.84% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 138,230 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 70.53% of the eligible population.

“No appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available Monday-Friday 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-Friday 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.