Hays County tallies 69 COVID-19 recoveries, 34 new cases Wednesday

The Hays County Local Health Department reported that an additional 69 county residents have recovered from COVID-19 while also tallying 34 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases and three hospital discharges on Wednesday.

There are currently 1,953 active COVID-19 cases — 35 fewer than Tuesday — and there have been 5,560 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in Hays County on March 14 

With the 69 newly reported recoveries, 3,556 Hays County residents have now recovered from the disease.

There are currently 13 county residents hospitalized by the coronavirus following the three hospital discharges reported Wednesday. The county has recorded 158 total hospitalizations. 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 the county, the local health department said.

The county has received 25,517 negative tests and is awaiting results from 41 tests. Hays County Epidemiologist Eric Schneider attributed the 579 negative tests reported Wednesday to negative lab reports from a nursing home within the county that recently tested staff and residents.There have been 31,111 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos has tallied the most coronavirus cases in the county but continues to see a decrease in active cases. The city reported 763 active cases — 28 less cases than Tuesday — and 2,756 total cases on Wednesday.

Kyle now has 765 active cases and has had 1,701 total. Buda has recorded 752 total cases and currently has 316 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 92 total cases and has 58 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 90 total cases, including 23 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 21 active cases and has had 53 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 37 total cases and has 14 active cases. Niederwald has had 30 total cases. Uhland has had 19 total cases and has nine active cases. Mountain City has had 10 total cases and has seven active cases. 

Maxwell has had nine total cases. Manchaca has had nine total cases and has three active cases. Bear Creek and Woodcreek each have had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,127 total cases recorded Wednesday. 

Nine-hundred-twenty-one county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Six-hundred-sixty-eight people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Five-hundred-sixteen residents fall in the 50-59-year-old age range. Five-hundred-thirty-one diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 10-19 years old, 322 are 60-69 years old, 187 are 70-79 years old, 187 are 9 years old or younger and 101 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 2,910 females and 2,650 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 44.6% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36.9% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 18.5% are non-Hispanic. 

By race, 60.9% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 36.7% are unknown or not specified, 2% are Black and 0.5% are Asian. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday that there have now been 645,791 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 13,692 fatalities and there are 3,604 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 558,894 Texans have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University, an additional 14 cases have been reported as of press time Wednesday. Texas State has recorded 338 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 302 among students and 36 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.