San Marcos man dies of COVID-19; County records 103 new cases Wednesday

A San Marcos man in his 40s died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Wednesday. 

Hays County has now recorded 239 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department also tallied 103 new lab-confirmed cases, 20 additional recoveries, six hospitalizations and five hospital discharges on Wednesday, which included information from April 20-21. 

The county considers 624 cases active — 82 more than Monday — and there have been 17,979 total cases. Hays County has tallied 833 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,954 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through April 21, 2021.

Fifteen county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 832 total hospitalizations with the fluctuation in hospitalizations and hospital discharges reported Wednesday. 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 17,116 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus following the 150 recoveries recorded Wednesday.

The local health department has received 155,122 negative tests and there have been 173,101 tests administered in Hays County. 

San Marcos recorded 24 new cases between Tuesday and Wednesday. The city currently has 250 active cases — a 20-case increase since Monday — and there have been 6,426 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 5,754 total cases, including 161 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,192 total cases and currently has 120 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 857 total cases and has 34 active cases. Wimberley has counted 705 total cases, including 18 active cases. 

Austin, within Hays County, currently has 22 active cases and has had 537 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 225 total cases and has 10 active cases. Niederwald has had 94 total cases and currently has two active cases. Maxwell has had 66 total cases and four active cases. Mountain City has amassed 46 total cases and one active case. Uhland has had 33 total cases. Manchaca has recorded 25 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied nine total, including two active cases. Bear Creek has amassed four total cases. Creedmoor and Hays have each recorded three total cases. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 5,131 total cases tallied Wednesday. 

According to the local health department, 2,725 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, 2,716 are 30-39 years old; 2,428 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,784 are between 50-59 years old; 1,172 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,145 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Five-hundred-fifty-five residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 323 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 9,419 females and 8,560 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 48.95% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 34.87% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16.18% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.6% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.4% are unknown or not specified, 2.9% are Black, 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 2,448,662 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 48,759 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 2,887 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,733 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,478 among students and 255 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Wednesday. There are currently 129 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported eight active COVID-19 cases for the week of April 12 — seven among students and one among faculty and staff. 

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 allowing all adults to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine effective March 29. According to the DSHS, 86,061 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, while 52,417 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.