Buda woman dies of COVID-19; County reports 89 new cases Friday

A Buda woman in her 60s died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Friday. 

Hays County has now recorded 240 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department also amassed 89 new lab-confirmed cases, 71 additional recoveries from the disease,one hospitalization and one hospital discharge on Friday, which included information reported from April 8-9. 

The county considers 432 cases active — 17 more than Wednesday — and there have been 17,447 total cases. Hays County has tallied 593 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,916 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through April 9, 2021.

Twelve county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 805 total hospitalizations with the fluctuation in hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Friday. 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.

There have been 16,775 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 71 recoveries recorded Friday.

The local health department has received 148,214 negative tests and there have been 165,661 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 41 new cases between Thursday and Friday. The city currently has 169 active cases — 14 more than Wednesday — and there have been 6,217 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 5,612 total cases, including 130 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,092 total cases and currently has 79 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 829 total cases and has 21 active cases. Wimberley has counted 688 total cases, including eight active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 13 active cases and has had 517 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 216 total cases and has six active cases. Niederwald has had 92 total cases and currently has two active cases. Maxwell has had 64 total cases and two active cases. Mountain City has amassed 45 cases and one active case. Uhland has had 33 total cases and one active case. Manchaca has recorded 25 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied seven total. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. Creedmoor and Hays have each recorded three total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,967 total cases tallied Friday. 

According to the local health department, 2,658 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,614 are 10-19 years old; 2,346 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,737 are between 50-59 years old; 1,143 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,119 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Five-hundred-forty-three residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 320 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 9,137 females and 8,310 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.07% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 34.52% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16.42% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.4% are unknown or not specified, 2.9% are Black, 1% are listed as other, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have been 2,418,286 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 48,109 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 2,866 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,576 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,322 among students and 254 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Friday. There are currently 137 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported no COVID-19 cases among students and staff for the week of March 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.

COVID-19 VACCINE SIGNUP 

To pre-register for Hays County’s COVID-19 vaccine waitlist visit haysinformed.com/covid-19. The pre-registration list does not guarantee an appointment. The state is allowing all adults to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, which went into effect March 29. According to the DSHS, 66,199 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday, while 39,485 have been fully vaccinated, approximately 20% of eligible adults. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.