Buda man dies of COVID-19; County tallies 53 new cases Wednesday

A Buda man in his 60s died of COVID-19, marking the 193rd coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department also recorded 706 additional recoveries, 53 new lab-confirmed cases, eight hospitalizations and three hospital discharges on Wednesday. 

The county states that 1,916 COVID-19 cases are considered active — a 654-case decrease since Tuesday — and there have been 15,166 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14, 2020. There have been 3,125 active cases over the last 21 days as of Wednesday. The county stated that there have been 1,730 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Feb. 3, 2021.

There are currently 40 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 686 total hospitalizations as of Wednesday. 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 706 additional recoveries tallied Wednesday, 13,057 county residents have now recovered from the disease.

The local health department has received 108,601 negative tests and there have been 123,767 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 16 new cases Wednesday. The city currently has 515 active cases — 190 fewer cases than Tuesday — and there have been 5,505 total cases. 

Kyle has tallied 4,879 total cases, including 709 active cases. Buda has recorded 2,670 total cases and currently has 340 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 684 total cases and has 109 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 573 total cases, including 103 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 85 active cases and has had 425 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 190 total cases and has 23 active cases. Niederwald has had 88 total cases and has nine active cases. Maxwell has had 49 total cases and has 16 active cases. Mountain City has amassed 36 cases and two currently active cases. Uhland has had 28 total cases and currently has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 19 total cases and has one active case.

Creedmoor has had nine total cases, including three active cases. Bear Creek and Woodcreek have both tallied four total cases each. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,390 total cases tallied as of Wednesday.

According to the local health department, 2,358 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,171 are 10-19 years old; 2,040 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; and 1,528 are between 50-59 years old.

Nine-hundred-eighty-three county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old, 930 are 9 years old or younger, 492 are 70-79 years old and 274 are 80 and older.

The local health department reports that  7,913 females and 7,253 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 48.9% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 33.4% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 17.7% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.8% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,120,299 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 37,288 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 10,827 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 1,954 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,748 among students and 206 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Wednesday.  

There are currently 196 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 17 active COVID-19 cases — 10 among students and seven among staff — for the week of Jan. 25-29.

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.