4 Hays County residents die of COVID-19, 243 new cases tallied Tuesday

Four Hays County residents recently died of COVID-19, raising the coronavirus-related death toll to 283. 

The Hays County Local Health Department reported that the four county residents who died were three Kyle citizens — a man in his 80s, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 60s — and a San Marcos woman in her 60s. 

The local health department also recorded an additional 243 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 104 recoveries, 11 hospital discharges and five hospitalizations on Tuesday. 

The county considers 1,955 cases active — 135 more than Monday — and there have been 22,107 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. Hays County has tallied 2,533 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,504 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Aug. 10, 2021.

Fifty-two county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 44 who are unvaccinated and eight who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. There have been 1,065 total hospitalizations as of Tuesday.

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

The local health department has received 202,236 negative tests and there have been 224,343 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Tuesday's report was 11.52%. 

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 79 new cases Tuesday. The city currently has 552 active cases — 48 more than Monday — and there have been 7,580 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 7,151 total cases, including 708 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,047 total cases and currently has 423 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,113 total cases and has 61 active cases. Wimberley has counted 963 total cases, including 113 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 636 total cases and has 49 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 294 total cases with 26 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 109 total cases, including six 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 6,072 total cases tallied as of Tuesday. There are currently 463 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 3,461 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 352 with active cases, 3,421 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 301 cases considered active; 3,002 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 266 cases considered active; 2,178 are between 50-59 years old, including 194 active cases; 1,551 are 9 years old or younger with 195 cases considered active; and 1,367 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 107 are considered active cases.

Six-hundred-eighty-two Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 77 active cases; and 373 are 80 and older with 21 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 11,563 females and 10,544 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 922 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.4% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.6% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 15% 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 13,935 lab-confirmed cases Tuesday. There have now been 2,744,957 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 52,555 fatalities as of Tuesday. There are currently 10,041Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Tuesday is 18.4%.

At Texas State University there have been 48 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 26 among students and 20 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 46 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, 108,833 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, approximately 55.53% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 130,553 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 66.6% 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.