3 Hays County residents die of COVID-19, 161 new cases recorded Wednesday

Three Hays County residents recently died of COVID-19, raising the coronavirus-related death toll to 286. 

The Hays County Local Health Department reported that the three county residents who died include a Dripping Springs man in his 90s; a Mountain City man in his 80s; and a Buda man in his 70s. 

The local health department also recorded an additional 161 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 145 recoveries, 10 hospital discharges and one hospitalization on Wednesday. 

The county considers 1,968 cases active — 13 more than Tuesday — and there have been 22,268 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. Hays County has tallied 2,605 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,518 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Aug. 11, 2021.

Forty-three county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 37 who are unvaccinated and six who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. There have been 1,066 total hospitalizations as of Wednesday.

There have been 19,869 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 104 recoveries recorded Wednesday.

The local health department has received 203,209 negative tests and there have been 225,477 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Wednesday's report was approximately 14.2%. 

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 34 new cases Wednesday. The city currently has 545 active cases — seven fewer than Tuesday — and there have been 7,614 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 7,213 total cases, including 732 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,084 total cases and currently has 427 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,117 total cases and has 59 active cases. Wimberley has counted 978 total cases, including 111 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 644 total cases and has 49 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 295 total cases with 23 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 109 total cases, including five active cases. Maxwell has had 59 total cases with five active cases. Mountain City has amassed 59 total cases with nine currently considered active. Uhland has had 41 total cases and has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 29 total cases and one active case.

Woodcreek has one active case and has recorded 12 total. Creedmoor has recorded six total cases. Bear Creek has amassed five total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 6,114 total cases tallied as of Wednesday. There are currently 471 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 3,489 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 348 with active cases, 3,447 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 309 cases considered active; 3,024 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 263 cases considered active; 2,188 are between 50-59 years old, including 191 active cases; 1,572 are 9 years old or younger with 205 cases considered active; and 1,375 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 108 are considered active cases.

Six-hundred-eighty-four Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 53 active cases; and 375 are 80 and older with 20 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 11,638 females and 10,630 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,033 active cases among females in the county and there are 935 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.4% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.7% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14.9% 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 14,214 lab-confirmed cases Wednesday. There have now been 2,759,325 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 52,667 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 10,463 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Wednesday is 18.68%.

At Texas State University there have been 46 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 26 among students and 20 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 48 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, 108,950 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, approximately 55.59% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 130,833 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 66.75% 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.