The Hays County Local Health Department reported 229 new COVID-19 cases and 51 additional recoveries on Wednesday.
There are currently 1,203 active coronavirus cases — a 178-case increase since Tuesday — and there have been 8,569 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 1,535 active cases over the last 21 days — a 173-case increase since Tuesday. The county stated that there have been 1,012 probable cases spanning from April through Dec. 16.
Epidemiologist Ian Harris said the coronavirus is still actively spreading throughout Hays County.
“We encourage everyone to keep practicing all of the safety precautions especially with the holidays approaching,” Harris said. “The holidays might not be the same this year, but we want everyone and their families to stay healthy.”
There are currently 16 county residents hospitalized by COVID-19 and there have been 465 total hospitalizations after the county reported no additional hospitalizations or hospital discharges on Wednesday. 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.
There have now been 7,253 county residents who have recovered from COVID-19.
The local health department has received 62,379 negative tests and there have been 70,948 tests administered in Hays County. Additionally, the county said Curative — the company offering free testing throughout Hays County — sent two reports to the local health department, which showed 200 new positive diagnoses over a two-day period. “We know it may seem out of keeping with recent trends and that Tuesday’s report of new lab-confirmed cases was low, comparatively,” the county said. “HCLHD wanted to inform our audience of the reason for the anomaly.”
San Marcos recorded an additional 80 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. There are currently 302 active cases — 69 more than Tuesday — and there have been 3,387 total cases.
Kyle has tallied 2,784 total cases, including 419 active cases. Buda has recorded 1,439 total cases and currently has 254 active cases. Dripping Springs has amassed 349 total cases and has 95 active cases. Austin, within Hays County, currently has 74 active cases and has had 221 total cases. Wimberley has tallied 167 total cases, including 19 active cases. Driftwood has recorded 104 total cases and has 21 active cases. Niederwald has had 43 total cases and has eight active cases. Uhland has had 24 total cases and one active case. Manchaca has recorded 12 total cases, including three active cases. Maxwell has had 10 total cases, including one case.
Bear Creek currently has one active case and has tallied four total cases. Creedmoor has had three total cases and two active cases. Woodcreek has had two total cases.
The 20-29-age-range has recorded the most COVID-19 cases with 2,738 total cases tallied as of Wednesday.
According to the local health department, 1,354 county residents diagnosed with the disease are between 30-39 years old, while 1,114 people who have contracted the coronavirus are 40-49 years old and 1,105 residents fall in the 10-19-year-old age range. Eight-hundred-fifty-three county residents diagnosed with COVID-19 are between 50-59 years old, 543 are 60-69 years old, 397 are 9 years old or younger, 281 are 70-79 years old and 184 are 80 and older.
According to the local health department, 4,470 females and 4,099 males in Hays County have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The county’s ethnic breakdown states 46.5% of county residents diagnosed with the coronavirus are Hispanic, while 30.5% of county residents diagnosed with the disease are non-Hispanic and 23.1% don’t have a specified ethnicity.
By race, 71.3% of county residents who’ve had COVID-19 are white, 25.5% 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 1,367,965 Texans diagnosed with COVID-19, 24,394 fatalities and an estimated 1,216,413 recoveries from the disease as of Wednesday. There are currently 9,528 Texans hospitalized by the coronavirus, according to the DSHS.
At Texas State University there have been 1,285 total coronavirus cases since March 1 — 1,193 among students and 92 among faculty and staff — as of press time on Wednesday. There are currently 93 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.
