Hays County reports 99 new COVID-19 cases, no fatalities

The Hays County Local Health Department reported 99 COVID-19 cases and one hospitalization in its weekly report.

The county also reported a 41.1 weekly case rate per 100,000, a 5.9 daily case rate per 100,000, zero new hospitalizations per 100,000 in the weekly report, which includes information from April 7-14.

HCLHD didn’t report a fatality during this week’s report. The county considers 99 cases active. The seven-day positivity rate for Wednesday’s report was 6.13%.

The Hays County Local Health Department currently reports COVID-19 data in alignment with how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calculates whether a community has a high, medium or low transmission

Hays County has a low COVID-19 transmission rate as of Friday, according to the CDC.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an additional 1,023 lab-confirmed cases Thursday. There have now been 5,522,584 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19 and 86,327 fatalities as of Thursday. There are currently 785 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS. The statewide positivity rate as of Thursday is 4.06%.

At Texas State University there have been 4,557 coronavirus cases recorded since Aug. 1, 2021 — 3,839 among students and 718 among faculty and staff — at the time of publication. There are currently 66 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.

COVID-19 METRIC DEFINITIONS, COURTESY OF HAYS COUNTY:

New cases: Total new cases since the last report. This includes both PCR and antigen positive tests. This is a change from the previous two years reporting that separated PCR tests (confirmed) from antigen tests (probable).

Daily case Rate per 100K (seven-day average): The number of daily new cases per 100,000 population. This is calculated by dividing the seven-day average by the county population and multiplying by 100,000. This standardizes the data in a way that makes it easy to compare data across areas with differing populations.

Weekly case rate per 100K (seven-day average): Calculated by dividing the total number of cases in the past 7 days by the county population and multiplying by 100,000. This metric is one that the CDC is currently using to determine COVID-19 community levels.

Active Cases: The number of new cases over the past seven days. This number is a very broad estimate of the number of people who may be contagious.

Hospital Admissions (past seven days): Total number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions in the past seven days.

Hospitalizations per 100K (7-day average): Total number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions divided by the county population and multiplied by 100,00.

Fatalities: COVID-19 deaths reported in the past seven days.

Seven-day Positivity Rate: Percentage of performed tests that were positive in the past seven days. Calculated by dividing the number of positive test results by the total number of reported tests and multiplying by 100. Test positivity rate aims to measure the viral prevalence in a community but is also affected by testing strategies and availability.

VACCINE AVAILABILITY

In Hays County, “no appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available. Vaccines are offered at Christus Trinity Clinic (formerly Live Oak), 401 Broadway from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson doses available. 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.

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, 143,685 county residents are considered fully vaccinated — 66.73% of 215,309 eligible residents who are 5 years or older as of Thursday. The DSHS stated that 167,711 Hays County residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose — 77.89% of eligible residents. Additionally, the DSHS stated that 57,536 Hays County citizens have received an additional vaccine dose as of Thursday.