Kyle man dies of COVID-19; County records 121 new cases Friday

A Kyle man in his 30s recently died of COVID-19, raising Hays County's coronavirus-related death toll to 266.

Hays County continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases. The active case count has more than tripled since the beginning of the month from 177 on July 2 to 565 as of Friday. 

The Hays County Local Health Department recorded an additional 121 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 46 recoveries, six hospital discharges and two hospitalizations on Friday, which included information from July 22-23. 

The county considers 565 cases active — 74 more than Wednesday. There have been 19,796 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. Hays County has tallied 678 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,224 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through July 23, 2021.

Ten county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 943 total hospitalizations. 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 18,965 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus following the 46 recoveries recorded Friday.

The local health department has received 186,649 negative tests and there have been 207,445 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate in the county is currently at 10.3% as of Friday. Following its weekly audit, Hays County removed one case from its total count due to out of county or duplicate records. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services has conducted random testing for positive cases of the Delta variant and there have been no positive Delta cases for Hays County. But officials warn that the Delta variant may be present in Hays County despite no official positive result.   

San Marcos recorded 24 new cases between Thursday and Friday. The city currently has 158  active cases — 11 more than Wednesday — and there have been 6,927 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 6,315 total cases, including 172 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,534 total cases and currently has 133 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,036 total cases and has 21 active cases. Wimberley has counted 824 total cases, including 50 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 582 total cases and has 16 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 261 total cases with seven cases considered active. Niederwald has had 102 total cases, including two active cases.  Maxwell has had 53 total cases. Mountain City has amassed 50 total cases with two currently considered active. Uhland has had 39 total cases and has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 26 total cases and two active cases

Woodcreek has tallied 10 total cases. Creedmoor has recorded five total cases, including one active case. Bear Creek has amassed five total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 5,513 total cases tallied Friday. There are currently 117 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County. 

According to the local health department, 3,065 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 77 cases considered active; 2,999 are 30-39 years old with 112 with active cases; 2,671 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 85 cases considered active; 1,946 are between 50-59 years old, including 52 active cases; 1,321 are 9 years old or younger with 77 cases considered active; and 1,227 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 15 are considered active cases.

Six-hundred-seven Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including seven active cases; and 344 are 80 and older with three cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 10,354 females and 9,442 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 303 active cases among females in the county and there are 262 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.1% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.3% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 15.5% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.4% are unknown or not specified, 3.1% 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 been 2,596,610 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 51,802 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 3,890 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Friday is 13.22%.

At Texas State University there have been 2,919 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,629 among students and 290 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 16 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

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 SIGN-UP

To make an appointment for a vaccine shot, visit https://www.haysinformed.com. From there you can use the new online scheduler to find a time and location that works best for you. According to the DSHS, 106,124 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, approximately 54.15% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 124,169 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 63.35% of the eligible population.

“No appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available Monday-Friday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway, in San Marcos between 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at this clinic. 

Every Thursday and Friday, a Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m..

Pfizer vaccines will be available on Thursday, July 29 at three locations from 1-8 p.m. — Redwood Baptist Church, 2050 Poplar St. in San Marcos; Scudder Primary School, 400 Green Acres Dr. in Wimberley; and Walnut Spring School at 113 Tiger Lane in Dripping Springs.