3 Hays County residents die from COVID-19, 172 new cases tallied Thursday

Three Hays County residents recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Thursday. 

A Kyle woman in her 90s; a San Marcos woman in her 60s; and a Kyle man in his 30s were among those who died from the coronavirus. Hays County has now recorded 307 COVID-19-related fatalities. 

The local health department also reported 239 additional recoveries, 172 new lab-confirmed cases, eight hospital discharges and three hospitalizations on Thursday. 

The county considers 2,184 cases active — 76 fewer than Wednesday — and there have been 24,675 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

Hays County has tallied 3,291 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,746 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Aug. 26, 2021.

Forty-seven county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 38 who are unvaccinated and nine who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 38 citizens hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 20 are in the ICU and on a ventilator, nine are in the ICU and not currently on a ventilator, nine are not in the ICU. Additionally, six of the county residents hospitalized who are vaccinated are not in the ICU, while two are in the ICU and on a ventilator and one is in the ICU and not on a ventilator. There have been 1,148 total hospitalizations as of Thursday.

There have been 22,184 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 239 recoveries tallied Thursday.

The local health department has received 218,138 negative tests and there have been 241,529 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Thursday's report was approximately 13.4%. 

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 57 new cases Thursday. The city currently has 777 active cases — 34 fewer than Wednesday — and there have been 8,474 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 8,045 total cases, including 746 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,455 total cases and currently has 347 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,216 total cases and has 91 active cases. Wimberley has counted 1,095 total cases, including 101 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 707 total cases and has 59 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 340 total cases with 40 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 118 total cases, including nine active cases. Mountain City has amassed 67 total cases with seven 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 30 total cases with one currently considered active.

Woodcreek 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 6,665 total cases tallied as of Thursday. There are currently 498 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 3,897 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 374 with active cases; 3,897 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 413 cases considered active; 3,354 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 289 cases considered active; 2,384 are between 50-59 years old, including 182 active cases; 1,808 are 9 years old or younger with 218 cases considered active; and 1,536 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 143 are considered active cases.

Seven-hundred-thirty-two Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 51 active cases; and 407 are 80 and older with 24 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 12,829 females and 11,846 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,099 active cases among males in the county and there are 1,085 active cases among females. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.5% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14.5% 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 13,633 lab-confirmed cases Thursday. There have now been 2,962,616 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 54,691 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 13,932 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Thursday is 16.03%.

At Texas State University there have been 416 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 362 among students and 54 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 272 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, 113,569 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, approximately 57.94% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 136,855 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 69.82% 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-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.