Hays County reports 3 COVID-19 fatalities, 46 new cases Friday

Three Hays County residents recently died of COVID-19, the Hays County Local Health Department reported Friday.

A Wimberley man in his 90s; a Buda woman in her 80s; and a Buda man in his 60s were among those who died from the coronavirus. Hays County has recorded 491 COVID-19-related fatalities since the pandemic’s onset.

The local health department also tallied an additional 543 recoveries, 46 lab-confirmed cases and five hospital discharges on Friday, which included information from March 1-2.

The county considers 886 cases active — 502 fewer than reported Wednesday — and there have been 52,732 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. There have been 6,899 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through March 4, 2022.

Three county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 all of whom are vaccinated — according to the local health department. The county stated that of the three residents hospitalized who are vaccinated, two are currently in the ICU and on a ventilator and one is a non-ICU patient. There have been 1,666 total hospitalizations as of Friday.

The county has tallied 51,355 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus with the 543 additional recoveries tallied Friday.

The local health department has received 359,907 negative tests and there have been 412,639 tests administered in the county. The positivity rate for Friday’s report was approximately 2.01%

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. The local health department now accepts at-home COVID-19 test results to be uploaded online at https://arcg.is/1G- 4P1r. The county said all information remains confidential and no identifying information is collected. Additionally, at-home test results reported won’t be included in the official case count but will provide “a better understanding of community spread,” the county added.

San Marcos has 199 active cases — 109 fewer than recorded Wednesday — and there have been 16,750 total cases as of Friday.

Kyle has recorded 17,292 total cases, including 319 active cases. Buda has tallied 10,202 total cases and currently has 193 active cases. Wimberley has counted 2,916 total cases, including 33 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 2,454 total cases and has 60 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, has had 1,503 total cases and has 46 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 760 total cases with 15 cases considered active. Niederwald has had 244 total cases including four active cases. Maxwell has had 220 total cases. Mountain City has amassed 133 total cases and has three active cases. Uhland has had 130 total cases with 11 considered active. Manchaca has recorded 96 total cases and two active cases. Woodcreek has recorded 18 total cases with one currently active case

Bear Creek has amassed nine total cases. Hays has reported four total cases. Creedmoor has recorded one total case.

The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 12,674 total cases tallied as of Friday. There are currently 228 active cases among 20-29 year olds in Hays County.

According to the local health department, 8,601 county residents who’ve contracted COVID-19 have been between 10-19 years old, including 127 cases considered active; 8,590 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old with 134 with active cases; 7,313 people fall in the 40-49-year-old age range with 106 cases considered active; 5,100 are 9 years old or younger with 174 cases considered active; 4,884 are between 50-59 years old, including 106 active cases; and 3,237 county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are 60-69 years old and 52 are considered active cases.

The local health department has tallied 1,586 Hays County residents who are 70-79 years old and have contracted COVID-19, including 41 active cases; and 735 cases among residents who are 80 and older with 16 cases currently active.

There have been 28,348 total coronavirus cases among females and 24,384 among males in Hays County. There are currently 489 active cases among females in the county and 397 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 15% don’t have a specified ethnicity.

By race, 67.5% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 20.5% are unknown or not specified, 6.5 % are listed as other, 3.6% are Black, 1.5% are Asian, 0.3% are American Indian and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 2,431 lab-confirmed cases Friday. There have now been 5,441,947 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 84,224 fatalities as of Friday. There are currently 3,040 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Friday is 4.52%.

At Texas State University there have been 4,352 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 3,647 among students and 705 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 66 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.