Hays County reports 49 COVID-19 recoveries, 23 new cases Friday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported 49 additional COVID-19 recoveries, 23 new lab-confirmed cases on Friday. 

There are currently 2,803 active coronavirus cases — 26 less than Thursday. The county surpassed 5,000 total cases with 5,012 since the first diagnosis of the virus within the county on March 14. 

Hays County has now recorded 2,175 recoveries from the disease with the 49 additional recoveries announced Friday.

The local health department also reported one hospital discharge Friday. There are currently 15 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus and there have been 117 total hospitalizations. County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider stated that 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 the county.

Hays County has reported 34 total coronavirus-related fatalities since the first confirmed case was diagnosed within its boundaries. 

The local health department has received 22,226 negative tests and is awaiting results from 41 tests.

“Over the past week, our daily case counts have shown a downward trend,” Schneider said. “That is a good thing, but we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; COVID-19 isn’t over. We need everyone to keep washing their hands, wearing masks and staying distanced from others. Stay home if you can. These are the things that help slow the spread of the virus.”

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases with 23 less cases than Thursday. The city currently has 1,323 active cases and has had 2,484 total cases.

Kyle now has 920 active cases and has had 1,548 total. Buda has recorded 668 total cases and currently has 378 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 83 total cases, including 32 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 80 total cases and has 66 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 29 active cases and has had 45 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 32 total cases and has 30 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases, including one active case. Uhland has had 15 total cases and has 10 active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases, including three active cases. Manchaca has had eight total cases and two active cases. Mountain City has had eight total cases and has five active cases. Bear Creek and Woodcreek each have had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 1,996. Eight-hundred-forty-eight county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-eleven people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Four-hundred-sixty-two residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Four-hundred-sixteen county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 277 are 60-69 years old, 172 are 9 years old or younger, 156 are 70-79 years old and 74 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,623 females and 2,389 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states that 44.1% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity, while 38.0% are Hispanic and 17.9% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.5% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 37.1% are unknown or not specified, 1.9% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 6,679 new cases Friday. The DSHS states that there have now been 474,524 Texans diagnosed with the coronavirus, there have been 7,803 fatalities and there are 8065 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 331,668 Texans have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

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.