San Marcos man dies of COVID-19; County records 45 new cases Monday

A San Marcos man in his 70s died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Monday. 

There have now been 241 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within the county’s boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department also recorded 181 additional recoveries from COVID-19, 45 new lab-confirmed cases, six hospital discharges and four hospitalizations on Monday, which included information from May 8-10. 

The county considers 407 cases active — 137 fewer than Friday — and there have been 18,606 total cases since the onset of the pandemic. Hays County has tallied 730 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,039 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through May 10, 2021.

Fourteen county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 862 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 Hays County, the local health department said.

There have been 17,958 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus following the 181 recoveries recorded Monday.

The local health department has received 164,843 negative tests and there have been 183,449 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos recorded 21 new cases between Saturday and Monday. The city currently has 143 active cases — a 38-case decrease since Friday — and there have been 6,644 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 5,927 total cases, including 120 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,315 total cases and currently has 76 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 895 total cases and has 25 active cases. Wimberley has counted 733 total cases, including 16 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has nine active cases and has had 560 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 238 total cases and has seven active cases. Niederwald has had 96 total cases and currently has two active cases. Maxwell has had 73 total cases and seven active cases. Mountain City has amassed 46 total cases. Uhland has had 33 total cases. Manchaca has one active case and has recorded 26 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied nine total cases. Bear Creek has amassed four 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 5,275 total cases tallied Monday. 

According to the local health department, 2,882 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old; 2,807 are 30-39 years old; 2,515 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,833 are between 50-59 years old; 1,228 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,171 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Five-hundred-sixty-seven residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 328 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 9,757 females and 8,849 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 48.94% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.16% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 15.91% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.4% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.6% are unknown or not specified, 3% are Black, 1% are Asian, 0.9% are listed as other and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have been 2,487,480 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 49,594 fatalities as of Monday. There are currently 2,200 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,835 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,573 among students and 262 among faculty and staff — as of press time. There are currently 58 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 20 active COVID-19 cases for the week of April 26 — 19 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 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. The state is allowing all adults to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine effective March 29. According to the DSHS, 99,039 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the time of publication, while 73,659 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.