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The Hays County Local Health Department recorded 222 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases and nine additional hospitalizations on Monday, which included information reported over the weekend.
Following Monday’s report, epidemiologist Ian Harris said the coronavirus remains “very active” in the county.
“Hays County hospitalizations are ticking upward,” Harris said. “We expected the numbers to increase after Thanksgiving but we all need to do our part to get a handle on the virus especially with the holidays almost upon us.”
There are currently 1,279 active coronavirus cases — a 222-case increase since Friday — and there have been 8,313 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within Hays County on March 14. The local health department also reported that there have been 1,416 active cases over the last 21 days — a 151-case increase since Friday. The county stated that there have been 975 probable cases spanning from April through Dec. 14.
There are currently 16 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 463 total hospitalizations with the nine hospitalizations reported Monday. 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.
For the third consecutive report, Hays County did not report any additional recoveries from the disease on Monday. There have been 6,927 COVID-19 recoveries.
The county has tallied 107 coronavirus-related fatalities.
The local health department has received 60,343 negative tests and there have been 68,656 tests administered in Hays County.
San Marcos continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases with 75 new diagnoses reported Monday. There are currently 245 active cases and there have been 3,300 total cases.
Kyle has tallied 2,698 total cases, including 450 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,403 total cases and currently has 300 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 330 total cases and has 118 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 88 active cases and has had 207 total cases. Wimberley has tallied 164 total cases, including 27 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 99 total cases and has 34 active cases. Niederwald has had 41 total cases and has eight active cases. Uhland has had 23 total cases. Manchaca has recorded 11 total cases, including three active cases.
Maxwell has had nine total cases. Bear Creek currently has one active case and has tallied four total cases. Woodcreek has had two total cases.
The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,671 total cases tallied as of Monday.
According to the local health department, 1,304 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, while 1,080 people who have contracted the coronavirus are 40-49 years old and 1,067 residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. Eight-hundred-twenty-eight county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 522 are 60-69 years old, 380 are 9 years old or younger, 278 are 70-79 years old and 183 are 80 and older.
According to the local health department, 4,335 females and 3,978 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The county’s ethnic breakdown states 46.3% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 30.1% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 23.6% don’t have a specified ethnicity.
By race, 70.7% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 26.1% are unknown or not specified, 2.4% are Black and 0.8% are Asian.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported there have now been 1,337,096 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 23,937 fatalities and an estimated 1,185,627 recoveries from the disease as of Monday. There are currently 9,304 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.
At Texas State University there have been 1,242 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 1,159 among students and 83 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Monday. There are currently 118 active cases, according to the university’s dashboard.
As San Marcos Consolidated ISD brought back students at roughly 55% capacity in November, the district is reporting 14 active COVID-19 cases — seven among faculty and staff and seven among students.
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.
Harris urges county residents to keep taking the same safety precautions, including wearing masks, washing hands, staying home as much as possible and avoiding large gatherings.
“Our holidays may look a little different this year. But by taking steps now, we can attempt to avoid a similar increase after the new year,” Harris said.
