Kyle woman dies from COVID-19; County reports 44 new cases Monday

A Kyle woman in her 70s died from COVID-19, marking the 88th coronavirus-related fatality in Hays County. 

The Hays County Local Health Department also reported 63 additional recoveries from COVID-19, 44 new lab-confirmed cases, five hospital discharges and four hospitalizations on Monday, which included information from the weekend.

There are currently 304 active coronavirus cases — 19 fewer than Friday — and there have been 6,176 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County. The local health department also reported that there have been 418 active cases over the last 21 days — a 25-case increase since Friday. The county reported that there have been 745 probable cases spanning from April through October.

There are currently 10 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 391 total hospitalizations with the fluctuation in hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Monday. 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, the local health department said.

Hays County has now had 5,784 residents recover from the disease as of Monday. 

The local health department has received 36,170 negative tests and there have been 42,346 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos, which has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county, saw an 18-case decrease in active cases reported Monday. There are currently 60 active COVID-19 cases and there have been 2,971

Kyle has tallied 1,866 total cases, including 116 active cases. Buda has recorded 873 total cases and currently has 81 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 128 total cases and has 19 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 117 total cases, including nine active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 11 active cases and has had 86 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 48 total cases and has four active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 23 total cases and two active cases. Mountain City has had 11 total cases and has one active case. Maxwell has had 10 total cases.

Manchaca has had eight total cases. Bear Creek has one active case and has had three total cases. Woodcreek has had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,247 total cases tallied as of Monday.

According to the local health department, 990 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Seven-hundred-thirty-seven people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Seven-hundred-eighteen residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. Five-hundred-seventy-three county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 366 are 60-69 years old, 212 are 70-79 years old, 213 are 9 years old or younger and 120 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,218 females and 2,958 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 45% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 32.4% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 22.7% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 63.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 33.7% are unknown or not specified, 2.4% are Black and 0.6% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported that there have now been 904,855 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 18,077 fatalities and an estimated 785,282 recoveries from the disease. There are currently 5,691 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 788 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 739 among students and 49 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Monday. There are currently 29 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

As San Marcos Consolidated ISD brought back students at roughly 50% capacity on Oct. 5, the district is reporting four total onsite cases among students.

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.