Buda man dies of COVID-19; County reports 1,500 new cases Tuesday

A Buda man in his 20s recently died of COVID-19, marking Hays County’s 427th coronavirus-related fatality.

An additional 1,500 lab-confirmed cases, 23 hospitalizations and 12 hospital discharges were reported by the Hays County Local Health Department on Tuesday, which included information from Jan. 15-18. 

The county considers 5,890 cases active and there have been 41,108 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. The county has tallied 8,910 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 4,500 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Jan. 18, 2022.

Thirty-three county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 17 who are unvaccinated and 16 who are vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 17 residents hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 12 are non-ICU patients, three are in the ICU and on a ventilator and two are in the ICU and not on a ventilator. Additionally, 10 of the residents who are hospitalized and vaccinated are non-ICU patients, five are currently in the ICU and not on a ventilator and one patient is in the ICU and on a ventilator. There have been 1,497 total hospitalizations as of Tuesday.

The county has tallied 34,791 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus.

The local health department has received 322,676 negative tests and there have been 363,784 tests administered in the county. 

As coronavirus cases continue to increase in Hays County, the local health department stresses the importance of taking precautions to limit the spread, including frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing a mask indoors around large groups of people.

San Marcos currently has 2,065 active cases and there have been 13,584 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 13,258 total cases, including 1,854 active cases. Buda has tallied 7,825 total cases and currently has 1,172 active cases. Wimberley has counted 2,274 total cases, including 333 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,761 total cases and has 160 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 1,143 total cases and has 140 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 596 total cases with 60 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 194 total cases including 22 active cases. Maxwell has had 168 total cases, including 58 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 106 total cases and has 11 active cases. Uhland has had 93 total cases with 15 considered active. Manchaca has recorded 71 total cases and six active cases. Woodcreek has recorded 13 total cases. 

Creedmoor has recorded 11 total cases with four considered active. Bear Creek has amassed eight total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 10,590 total cases tallied as of Tuesday. There are currently 1,639 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 6,715 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 1,045 with active cases; 6,678 county residents who’ve contracted COVID-19 have been between 10-19 years old, including 840 cases considered active; 5,670 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 845 cases considered active; 3,805 are between 50-59 years old, including 515 active cases; 3,513 are 9 years old or younger with 479 cases considered active; and 2,409 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 321 are considered active cases.

The local health department has tallied 1,175 Hays County residents who are 70-79 years old and have contracted COVID-19, including 161 active cases; and 553 cases among residents who are 80 and older with 45 cases currently active.

There have been 21,889 total coronavirus cases among females and 19,219 among males in Hays County. There are currently 3,391 active cases among females in the county and 2,499 active cases among males.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 38% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 13% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 20.6% are unknown or not specified, 4.9 % are listed as other, 3.7% are Black, 1.3% are Asian and 0.2% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 44,610 lab-confirmed cases Tuesday. There have now been 4,701,161 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 31,312 fatalities as of Tuesday. There are currently 12,344 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Friday is 33.78%.

At Texas State University there have been 3,031 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 2,550 among students and 481 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 568 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 78 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday — 52 among 8,200 students and 26 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.

VACCINE AVAILABILITY

In Hays County, “no appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available. Vaccines usually offered Monday-Friday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway won’t be available until further notice, according to the Hays County Local Health Department. A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Friday between 11-8 a.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, B&J Pharmacy, San Marcos Family Medicine and Sam’s Club Pharmacy. Visit https://www.vaccines.gov to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.

According to the DSHS, 37,442 county residents are considered fully vaccinated — 63.83% of 215,309 eligible residents who are 5 years or older as of Tuesday. The DSHS stated that 162,114 Hays County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose — 75.3% of eligible residents.  Additionally, the DSHS stated that 48,880 Hays County citizens have received an additional vaccine dose as of Tuesday.