2 San Marcos residents die of COVID-19; County records 242 new cases Thursday

Two San Marcos residents recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Thursday. 

The two San Marcos citizens who died include a woman in her 80s and man in his 70s. Hays County has recorded 288 coronavirus-related fatalities since the pandemic’s onset. 

The local health department also recorded an additional 242 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, 79 recoveries and three hospitalizations on Friday. 

The county considers 2,129 cases active — 161 more than Wednesday — and there have been 22,510 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. Hays County has tallied 2,781 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 2,536 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Aug. 12, 2021.

Forty-six county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 38 who are unvaccinated and eight who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. There have been 1,069 total hospitalizations as of Thursday.

There have been 20,093 county residents who have recovered from the coronavirus with the 79 recoveries recorded Thursday.

The local health department has received 204,462 negative tests and there have been 226,972 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Thursday's report was approximately 16.19%. 

The Texas Department of State Health Services has conducted random testing for positive cases of the Delta variant and there has been one confirmed positive Delta case detected in Hays County. The county, however, stated that the case is no longer considered active.

San Marcos recorded 101 new cases Thursday. The city currently has 634 active cases — 89 more than Wednesday — and there have been 7,715 total cases. 

Kyle has recorded 7,296 total cases, including 785 active cases. Buda has tallied 4,108 total cases and currently has 420 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 1,124 total cases and has 63 active cases. Wimberley has counted 994 total cases, including 125 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 649 total cases and has 53 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 300 total cases with 27 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 109 total cases, including five active cases. Mountain City has amassed 60 total cases with nine currently considered active. Maxwell has had 59 total cases with five active cases. Uhland has had 41 total cases and has one active case. Manchaca has recorded 29 total cases and one active case.

Woodcreek has one active case and has recorded 12 total. Creedmoor has recorded six total cases. Bear Creek has amassed five total cases. Hays has reported three total cases.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 6,174 total cases tallied as of Thursday. There are currently 516 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 3,538 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 386 with active cases, 3,485 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 10-19 years old, including 331 cases considered active; 3,061 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 290 cases considered active; 2,207 are between 50-59 years old, including 205 active cases; 1,594 are 9 years old or younger with 218 cases considered active; and 1,385 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 109 are considered active cases.

Six-hundred-eighty-nine Hays County residents who've contracted COVID-19 are 70-79 years old, including 54 active cases; and 377 are 80 and older with 20 cases currently active.

The local health department reported that 11,751 females and 10,759 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19. There are currently 1,102 active cases among females in the county and there are 1,027 active cases among males. 

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 49.4% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 35.7% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14.9% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 69.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.5% are unknown or not specified, 3.1% are Black, 1% are listed as other, 1% are Asian and 0.1% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 11,975 lab-confirmed cases Thursday. There have now been 2,771,471 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 52,787 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 10,791 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Thursday is 18.78%.

At Texas State University there have been 67 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1 — 40 among students and 27 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 67 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

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, 109,196 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, approximately 55.71% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 131,340 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 67.01% 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.