San Marcos woman dies from COVID-19, 67 new cases

A San Marcos woman in her 70s died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Thursday. 

Hays County has now tallied 234 coronavirus-related fatalities since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. 

The local health department recorded 67 new lab confirmed COVID-19 cases, 35 additional recoveries from COVID-19 and one hospital discharge on Thursday. Hays County said the new cases reported Thursday included results from Curative testing conducted Wednesday and Thursday.

The county considers 423 cases active —  31 more than Wednesday — and there have been 16,856 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries. Hays County has tallied 678 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 1,861 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through March 18, 2021.

Six county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 770 total hospitalizations following the hospital discharges reported on Thursday. 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 16,199 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 35 recoveries recorded Thursday. 

The local health department has received 137,829 negative tests and there have been 154,685  tests administered in Hays County.

Local health department officials are urging individuals and families who socialize or travel during spring break to practice safe health practices, including regular vigorous hand washing, social distancing, wearing face masks and avoiding large crowds.

“COVID-19 spreads most easily when large groups of people spend time together,” Epidemiologist Eric Schneider said. “By avoiding large crowds at locations like bars, parties and the beach, we can continue to keep our case count low.”

San Marcos recorded 31 new cases on Thursday. The city currently has 154 active cases — a 21-case decrease since Wednesday — and there have been 5,993 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 5,427 total cases, including 104 active cases. Buda has tallied 2,988 total cases and currently has 80 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 794 total cases and has 42 active cases. Wimberley has counted 676 total cases, including 17 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has eight active cases and has had 501 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 209 total cases and has five active cases. Niederwald has had 89 total cases. Maxwell has had 62 total cases and has five active cases. Mountain City has amassed 43 cases and three active cases. Uhland has had 32 total cases and three active cases. Manchaca has recorded 25 total cases and has two active 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 4,783 total cases tallied Thursday. 

According to the local health department, 2,588 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old; 2,506 are 10-19 years old; 2,279 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range; 1,684 are between 50-59 years old; 1,088 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old; and 1,083 are 9 years old or younger.

Five-hundred-thirty-four residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, and 311 are 80 and older.

The local health department reported that 8,808 females and 8,048 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 34.3% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 16.6% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.7% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.5% are unknown or not specified, 2.7% 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 now been 2,359,556 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 46,077 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 3,846 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 2,329 total coronavirus cases since March 1, 2020 — 2,090 among students and 239 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Thursday. There are currently 107 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported four COVID-19 cases prior to this week’s spring break. Two cases exist among staff members and two 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.

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 only allowing individuals in groups 1A — front-line healthcare workers,  residents at long-term care facilities and — 1B, individuals 65 or older, or 16 or older with a health condition that increases risk of severe COVID‑19 illness, and school and child care staff to register to be vaccinated. According to the DSHS, 43,767 county residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, while 22,870 have been fully vaccinated. The DSHS estimates that Hays County has a population of 183,380 who are 16 years or older.