Kyle man dies of COVID-19; County tallies 132 new cases Wednesday

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

Hays County has now seen 265 coronavirus-related fatalities since the onset of the pandemic. 

Additionally, the county continues to see a rise in active COVID-19 cases as its current count increased by nearly 100 between Monday and Wednesday. 

The local health department recorded 132 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 35 recoveries, four hospital discharges and three hospitalizations on Wednesday, which included information from July 20-21. 

The county considers 491 cases active — 91 more than Monday. Hays County saw its lowest active count this year at 125 during its June 8-9 report. There have been 19,676 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. Hays County has tallied 576 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,174 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through July 21, 2021.

Fourteen county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 941 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 18,920 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus following the 35 recoveries recorded Wednesday.

The local health department has received 186,711 negative tests and there have been 206,387 tests administered in Hays County. 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 39 new cases between Tuesday and Wednesday. The city currently has 147 active cases — 29 more than Monday — and there have been 6,927 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 6,277 total cases, including 155 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,505 total cases and currently has 108 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,031 total cases and has 18 active cases. Wimberley has counted 812 total cases, including 40 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 577 total cases and has 13 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 258 total cases with four cases considered active. Niederwald has had 101 total cases, including three 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 24 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied 10 total cases. Bear Creek has amassed five total cases. Creedmoor has recorded four 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 Wednesday. 

According to the local health department, 3,048 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old; 2,999 are 30-39 years old; 2,671 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,946 are between 50-59 years old; 1,321 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,227 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Six-hundred-seven Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 344 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 10,293 females and 9,383 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.2% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 15.6% 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 2,584,324 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 51,709 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 3,566 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,916 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,627 among students and 289 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, 105,740 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday, approximately 53.94% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 123,474 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 63% 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..