Hays County tallies 34 new COVID-19 cases

Hays County reported 34 new lab confirmed COVID-19 cases, 60 recoveries, one hospital discharge and three new hospitalizations Wednesday.

There are currently 609 active coronavirus cases — 26 fewer than Tuesday — and there have been 6,264 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus in Hays County on March 14. The county also reported that there have been 320 active cases over the last 21 days — a 24-case increase since Tuesday.

The local health department states that there have been 766 probable cases spanning from April through October.

There are currently 10 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 363 total hospitalizations with the three new hospitalizations 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 the county, the local health department said.

Hays County has now had 5,573 residents recover from the disease following the 60 new recoveries tallied Wednesday. There have now been 63 coronavirus-related fatalities in the county and nine in the last week.

The local health department has received 32,941 negative tests and there have been 39,187 tests administered in Hays County.

San Marcos has seen the most coronavirus cases in the county but tallied less than 100 active cases on Wednesday. The city currently has 28 active cases — 12 less than Tuesday — and has had 3,114 total cases as of Wednesday.

Kyle now has 403 active cases and has had 1,851 total. Buda has recorded 846 total cases and currently has 110 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 116 total cases and has 35 active cases. Wimberley has tallied 115 total cases, including six active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has three active cases and has had 73 total cases. Driftwood has recorded 46 total cases and has 15 active cases. Niederwald has had 32 total cases and there is one active case. Uhland has had 20 total cases. Mountain City has had 12 total cases and has five active cases.

Manchaca has had nine total cases and has two active cases. Maxwell has had nine total cases. Bear Creek has one active case and has had two total cases. Woodcreek has had one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,317 total cases tallied as of Wednesday.

According to the local health department, 1,011 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old. Seven-hundred-twenty-four people diagnosed with the coronavirus are 40-49 years old. Seven-hundred-seven residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. Five-hundred-eighty county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 361 are 60-69 years old, 216 are 70-79 years old, 209 are 9 years old or younger and 121 are 80 and older.

According to the local health department, 3,256 females and 2,990 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

The county’s ethnic breakdown states 43.3% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 36.7% of county residents diagnosed with the disease don’t have a specified ethnicity and 20% are non-Hispanic.

By race, 62.1% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 35.0% are unknown or not specified, 2.3% are Black and 0.6% are Asian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Wednesday that there have now been 838,809 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, there have been 17,201 fatalities and there are 4,782 Texans currently hospitalized by the virus. An estimated 739,140 Texans have recovered from the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.

At Texas State University there have been 757 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 710 among students and 47 among faculty and staff — as of Wednesday. There are currently 47 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

As San Marcos Consolidated ISD brought back students at roughly 50% capacity on Oct. 5, the district is reporting five total onsite cases among students and two 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.