San Marcos man dies of COVID-19; County reports 21 new cases Wednesday

A San Marcos man in his 80s has 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 recorded 67 additional recoveries from the disease, 21 new lab-confirmed cases, four hospitalizations and two hospital discharges on Wednesday, which included information reported from April 6-7. 

The county considers 415 cases active and there have been 17,358  total cases. Hays County has tallied 576 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,914 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through April 7, 2021.

Twelve county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 804 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 16,704 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 67 recoveries recorded Wednesday.

The local health department has received 146,780 negative tests and there have been 164,138 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos has 155 active cases and there have been 6,176 total cases.

Kyle has recorded 5,594 total cases, including 139 active cases. Buda has tallied 3,074 total cases and currently has 70 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 826 total cases and has 20 active cases. Wimberley has counted 687 total cases, including seven active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 14 active cases and has had 515 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 215 total cases and has five active cases. Niederwald has had 92 total cases and currently has two active cases. Maxwell has had 62 total cases. Mountain City has amassed 45 cases and two active cases. Uhland has had 33 total cases and one active case. Manchaca has recorded 25 total cases.

Woodcreek has tallied seven total. 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 4,937 total cases tallied Wednesday. 

According to the local health department, 2,651 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,589 are 10-19 years old; 2,335 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,732 are between 50-59 years old; 1,134 are 9 years old or younger; and 1,118 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old.

Five-hundred-forty-three residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 319 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 9,082 females and 8,276 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.1% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 34.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16.5% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 70.2% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.4% are unknown or not specified, 2.6% are Black, 1% are listed as other, 0.7% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have been 2,412,115 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 47,921 fatalities as of Wednesday. There are currently 2,886 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,519 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,265 among students and 254 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Wednesday. There are currently 86 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported no COVID-19 cases among students and staff for the week of March 29.

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, which went into effect March 29. According to the DSHS, 63,551 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, while 36,670 have been fully vaccinated, approximately 20% of eligible adults. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.