Driftwood man dies of COVID-19; active cases begin to fall

Two Hays County men recently died of COVID-19, marking the 346th and 347th coronavirus-related fatalities.

The Hays County Local Health Department stated that the two residents who died were a Driftwood man in his 70s and a San Marcos man in his 50s.

The county also reported 152 additional recoveries from COVID-19, 80 new lab-confirmed cases, which lowers the overall amount of active cases in the county. There were seven new hospitalizations and seven hospital discharges on Friday.

The county considers 1,788 cases active — 74 fewer than Thursday — and there have been 27,573 total cases since the first diagnosis of the virus within its boundaries on March 14, 2020. For Dripping Springs, there are 64 active cases of COVID-19, and there have been 1,331 total cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Dripping Springs ISD reports that there were 44 students with active cases of COVID-19 as of September 16 as well as 12 employees with active cases. There have been 242 cases reported by the school district since the beginning of this school year on August 18.

The county has tallied 2,788 COVID-19 cases over the past 21 days. There have been 3,069 probable cases spanning from April 2020 through Sept. 17, 2021.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Fifty-five county residents are currently hospitalized by COVID-19 — 50 who are unvaccinated and five who are fully vaccinated, according to the local health department. The county stated that of the 50 citizens hospitalized who are unvaccinated, 21 are non-ICU patients, 15 are in the ICU and not currently on a ventilator and 14 are in the ICU and on a ventilator. Additionally, three patients who are fully vaccinated are not in the ICU, while one is in the ICU and on a ventilator and one is in the ICU and not on a ventilator. There have been 1,254 total hospitalizations as of Friday.

There have been 25,438 county residents who’ve recovered from the coronavirus following the 152 recoveries tallied Friday.

The local health department has received 243,552 negative tests and there have been 271,125 tests administered in Hays County. The positivity rate for Friday’s report was approximately 6.53%. During its weekly audit, the county removed 24 cases from its total case count due to out of county or duplicate records.

COVID-19 VACCINE SIGNUP

To make an appointment for a vaccine shot, visit https:// www.haysinformed.com. From there you can use the new online scheduler to find a time and location that works best for you. According to the DSHS, 119,913 Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, approximately 61.18%% of 195,999 eligible residents who are 12 years or older. Additionally, 141,317 county residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose — 72.1% of the eligible population.

“No appointment needed” vaccine clinics are available Monday-Friday at Live Oak Community Clinic, 401 Broadway, in San Marcos between 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available at this clinic.

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 Dripping Springs at multiple pharmacies including CVS, Walgreens and H-E-B. The new COVID-19 testing locations at Sycamore Springs Middle School and Walnut Springs Elementary plan to offer vaccination shots soon.

Visit hayscountytx.com/ covid-19-information-forhays-county-residents/ to see other locations across the county. Check with each location to see if an appointment is required or if walk-in is accepted.