San Marcos woman dies of COVID-19, 154 new cases recorded Friday

A San Marcos woman in her 40s recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Friday. 

Hays County has recorded 324 coronavirus-related fatalities. The county removed a fatality from its total count Friday after its weekly audit. 

The Hays County Local Health Department also tallied 154 new lab-confirmed cases, 131 additional recoveries, three hospital discharges and two hospitalizations on Friday. 

Hays County considers 2,111 cases active — 22 more than Thursday — and there have been 25,838 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. The county has tallied 3,184 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,848 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Sept. 3, 2021.

Fifty-six county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 47 who are unvaccinated and 9 who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 47 citizens hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 19 are in the ICU and on a ventilator, 16 are non-ICU patients and 12 are in the ICU and not currently on a ventilator. Additionally, seven of the county residents hospitalized who are vaccinated are non-ICU patients, one is in the ICU and on a ventilator and one is in the ICU and not on a ventilator. There have been 1,187 total hospitalizations as of Friday. Additionally, the county removed 19 hospitalizations from its total count following its weekly audit for out of county or duplicate records. 

There have been 23,403 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 131 recoveries tallied Friday.

The local health department has received 227,713 negative tests and there have been 253,551 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Friday's report was approximately 10.73%.

San Marcos recorded 59 new cases Friday. The city currently has 719 active cases — 14 more than Thursday — and there have been 8,880 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 8,360 total cases, including 621 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,662 total cases and currently has 390 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,268 total cases and has 97 active cases. Wimberley has counted 1,219 total cases, including 172 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 720 total cases and has 42 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 374 total cases with 42 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 120 total cases, including seven active cases. Mountain City has amassed 72 total cases with six currently considered active. Maxwell has had 56 total cases. Uhland has had 46 total cases and has four active cases. Manchaca has recorded 31 total cases with two currently considered active.

Woodcreek has recorded 12 total. Creedmoor has recorded eight total cases. Bear Creek has amassed seven total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 6,897 total cases tallied as of Friday. There are currently 424 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 4,176 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 504 cases considered active; 4,069 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 325 with active cases; 3,502 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 273 cases considered active; 2,464 are between 50-59 years old, including 144 active cases; 1,968 are 9 years old or younger with 261 cases considered active; and 1,590 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 127 are considered active cases.

Seven-hundred-fifty-three Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 34 active cases; and 419 are 80 and older with 19 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 13,447 females and 12,391 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,084 active cases among females in the county and there are 1,027 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.5% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36.2% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14.3% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 68.9% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.9% are unknown or not specified, 3.2% 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 an additional 17,099 lab-confirmed cases Friday. There have now been 3,057,285 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 56,296 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 13,790 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Thursday is 15.35%.

At Texas State University there have been 755 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 694 among students and 61 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 479 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported 27 active COVID-19 cases for the week of Aug. 23-27 — 21 among 8,000 SMCISD students and seven among 1,230 faculty and staff members. 

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. According to the DSHS, 115,931 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, approximately 59.15% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 138,662 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 70.75% 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 1:30-4:30 p.m. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at this clinic. 

A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Friday between 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1-3 p.m.

COVID-19 vaccines are widely available in San Marcos at multiple CVS pharmacies, multiple Walgreens pharmacies, both H-E-B pharmacies, MedPark Pharmacy, San Marcos Family Medicine and Sam’s Club Pharmacy. Visit  https://hayscountytx.com/covid-19-information-for-hays-county-residents/ to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.