4 Hays County residents die of COVID-19, 192 new cases Thursday

Two San Marcos men and two Buda men have died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Thursday. 

There have now been 185 coronavirus-related fatalities in Hays County. The two Buda men who died were both in their 70s, while one San Marcos man was in his 80s and one was in his 60s. 

The local health department also tallied 192 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 173 recoveries, 12 hospitalizations and seven hospital discharges on Thursday. 

The county states that 2,358 COVID-19 cases are considered active — a 15-case increase since Wednesday — and there have been 14,911 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in the county on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,737 active cases over the last 21 days as of Thursday. The county stated that there have been 1,691 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Jan. 28, 2021.

There are currently 39 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 649 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 173 additional recoveries tallied Thursday, 12,368 county residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 102,760 negative tests and there have been 117,671 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 47 new cases Thursday. There are currently 66 active cases — 5 more than Wednesday —  and there have been 5,543 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 4,718 total cases, including 883 active cases. Buda has recorded 2,607 total cases and currently has 432 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 681 total cases and has 122 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 542 total cases, including 120 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 75 active cases and has had 404 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 183 total cases and has 29 active cases. Niederwald has had 88 total cases and has 13 active cases. Maxwell has had 42 total cases and has 16 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 36 cases and three currently active cases. Uhland has had 29 total cases and currently has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 19 total cases and has one active case.

Creedmoor has had eight total cases, including three active cases. Bear Creek has tallied four total cases. Woodcreek has had four total cases and one active case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,346 total cases tallied as of Thursday.

According to the local health department, 2,324 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,119 are 10-19 years old; 2,011 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; and 1,501 are between 50-59 years old.

Nine-hundred-fifty-one county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 919 are 9 years old or younger, 479 are 70-79 years old and 261 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 7,803 females and 7,108 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 49.1% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 32.9% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 18% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.7% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 0.9% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,018,127 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 35,639 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 12,380 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,855 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,658 among students and 197 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Thursday.  There are currently 209 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 12 active COVID-19 cases — eight among staff and four among students — for the week of Jan. 18-24.

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.

HAYS COUNTY COVID-19 VACCINE SIGN UP PORTAL TO REOPEN FRIDAY

In anticipation of additional COVID-19 vaccine doses from the Texas Department of State Health Services, Hays County will reopen its vaccine sign up portal on Friday. Hays County residents, who qualify under the DSHS’s Phase 1A and 1B criteria groups, can sign up to be vaccinated at haysinformed.com, beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday. County residents who don’t have access to the internet or a smart phone can call 512-938-1650 to sign up. The county’s vaccine portal will not be available before noon on Friday. According to the state, only groups 1A — frontline health care workers and residents of a long-term care facility — and 1B, which consists of those who are 65 years and older and people 16 years and older who have a chronic medical condition such as cancer, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell disease and Type 2 diabetes mellitus, are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.