COVID-19 in decline as county reports 448 new cases Monday

COVID-19 cases are on the decline as the active case count has decreased by nearly 3,000 over the past week. 

Hays County recorded 2,958 active cases as of Monday — 2,854 fewer than reported on Feb. 7. Meanwhile, the Hays County Local Health Department also reported an additional 1,416 recoveries, 448 lab-confirmed cases, 12 hospital discharges and nine hospitalizations on Monday, which included information from Feb. 12-14. 

The county considers 2,854 cases active — 1,072 fewer than reported Friday — and there have been 50,732 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. There have been 6,675 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Feb. 14, 2022.

Twenty-five county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 15 who are unvaccinated and 10 who are vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 15 residents hospitalized who are unvaccinated, eight are non-ICU patients, five are in the ICU and not on a ventilator, and two are in the ICU on a ventilator. Additionally, five of the 10 residents who are hospitalized and vaccinated are non-ICU patients and five are currently in the ICU and not on a ventilator. There have been 1,635 total hospitalizations as of Monday.

The county has tallied 47,307 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 1,416 new recoveries tallied Monday.

Hays County has reported 467 COVID-19-related fatalities since the pandemic’s onset. 

The local health department has received 348,522 negative tests. Following its weekly data audit, the county removed 17 cases, including one hospitalization, for duplicate or out-of-county records. 

As the pandemic continues, the local health department stresses the importance of taking precautions to limit the spread, including frequent hand washing, social distancing and wearing a mask indoors around large groups of people.

San Marcos has 796 active cases — 351 fewer than recorded Friday  — and there have been 16,354 total cases as of Monday.

Kyle has recorded 16,515 total cases, including 924 active cases. Buda has tallied 9,813 total cases and currently has 627 active cases. Wimberley has counted 2,848 total cases, including 171 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 2,255 total cases and has 247 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 1,415 total cases and has 133 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 722 total cases with 30 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 232 total cases including 11 active cases. Maxwell has had 220 total cases, including four active cases. Mountain City has amassed 126 total cases and has two active cases. Uhland has had 119 total cases with six considered active. Manchaca has recorded 83 total cases and four active cases. Woodcreek has recorded 17 total cases, including two active cases. 

Bear Creek has amassed eight total cases. Hays has reported four total cases, including one active case. Creedmoor has recorded one total case. 

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 12,383 total cases tallied as of Monday. There are currently 504 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 8,301 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 454 with active cases; 8,259 county residents who’ve contracted COVID-19 have been between 10-19 years old, including 435 cases considered active; 7,047 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 429 cases considered active; 4,689 are between 50-59 years old, including 292 active cases; 4,725 are 9 years old or younger with 400 cases considered active; and 3,112 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 245 are considered active cases.

The local health department has tallied 1,514 Hays County residents who are 70-79 years old and have contracted COVID-19, including 129 active cases; and 702 cases among residents who are 80 and older with 70 cases currently active.

There have been 27,249 total coronavirus cases among females and 23,483 among males in Hays County. There are currently 1,667 active cases among females in the county and 1,291 active cases among males.

The county’s ethnic breakdown stated 47% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 38% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 14% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 67.9% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 20% are unknown or not specified, 6.6 % are listed as other, 3.6% are Black, 1.5% are Asian and 0.3% are American Indian.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 8,000 lab-confirmed cases Tuesday. There have now been 5,380,619 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 81,258 fatalities as of Tuesday. There are currently 7,154 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Tuesday is 12.04%.

At Texas State University there have been 4,183 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 3,494 among students and 689 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 166 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

San Marcos Consolidated ISD reported one new COVID-19 case Monday — one among 1,230 faculty and staff members and none among 8,200 students. 

VACCINE AVAILABILITY

​​In Hays County, “no appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available. Vaccines usually offered Monday-Friday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway won’t be available until further notice, according to the Hays County Local Health Department. A walk-in Pfizer vaccine clinic takes place at Communicare in Kyle at 2810 Dacy Lane every Monday-Friday between 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.

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

According to the DSHS, 140,485 county residents are considered fully vaccinated — 65.24% of 215,309 eligible residents who are 5 years or older as of Monday. The DSHS stated that 165,008 Hays County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose — 76.63% of eligible residents. Additionally, the DSHS stated that 53,944 Hays County citizens have received an additional vaccine dose as of Monday.