Kyle man dies of COVID-19, 46 new cases recorded Friday

A Kyle man in his 60s died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Friday. 

Hays County has now recorded 213 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department also tallied 63 additional recoveries from the disease, 46 new lab-confirmed cases, two hospitalizations and one hospital discharge on Friday. 

According to the local health department, 480 cases are considered active — 18 fewer than Thursday  — and there have been 16,270 total cases. The county has tallied 1,123 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,789 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Feb. 26, 2021.

Twenty-nine county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 740 total hospitalizations following the fluctuation between hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported on 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 now been 15,577 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 63 recoveries recorded Friday. 

The local health department has received 121,881 negative tests and there have been 138,151 tests administered in Hays County. Following its weekly audit, the county removed two cases from its total number of cases. The county stated that it removes cases due to being out-of-county or duplicate data.

San Marcos currently has 124 active cases — a five-case increase since Thursday — and there have been 5,791 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 5,291 total cases, including 161 active cases. Buda has tallied 2,864 total cases and currently has 95 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 746 total cases and has 31 active cases. Wimberley has counted 645 total cases, including 28 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 31 active cases and has had 487 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 200 total cases and has three active cases. Niederwald has had 89 total cases and has one active case. Maxwell has had 48 total cases and has three active cases. Mountain City has amassed 40 cases and two active cases. Uhland has had 29 total cases and one active case. Manchaca has recorded 23 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied seven total. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. Creedmoor has had three total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 4,629 total cases tallied Friday. 

According to the local health department, 2,494 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,393 are 10-19 years old; 2,203 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,643 are between 50-59 years old; 1,059 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old; and 1,031 are 9 years old or younger

Five-hundred-twenty residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 296 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 8,478 females and 7,792 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.17% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 33.79% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 17.04% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.5% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% are Black, 1.1% are listed as other, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 2,275,506 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 42,575 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 6,185 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,169 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 1,949 among students and 220 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Friday.  There are currently 39 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported two COVID-19 cases for the week of Feb. 15-19. Both cases exist among 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.

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 only allowing individuals in groups 1A — front-line healthcare workers and residents at long-term care facilities — and 1B, individuals 65 or older, or 16 or older with a health condition that increases risk of severe COVID‑19 illness to register to be vaccinated. According to the DSHS, 23,841 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 10,453 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.