Due to a new reporting system recently implemented at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), today’s update from the Hays County Local Health Department will contain 22 additional COVID-related fatalities. The new cases are a result of enhanced reporting protocols from hospitals, funeral homes, nursing facilities and other providers. Moving forward, this change will allow the HCLHD to report numbers that are consistent with state data. To see the full news release about the reporting system changes, please click here to visit the county’s website. The department also reports 19 new lab-confirmed cases, three (3) new hospitalizations, three (3) hospitalization discharges and 46 additional people now considered recovered.
The total number of individuals considered recovered is 5,691. The total number of lab-confirmed cases is 6,287 with 510 of those considered active*. The number of active cases from just the past 21 days is 341.The number of probable cases is 769. To be more in line with how the test results are being reported by the state health department, HCLHD is now reporting the probable cases separately in our COVID-19 updates. See the full Case Criteria Definitions at the end of this report.
The number of negative tests is 33,537. Hays County has had 366 total hospitalizations and 9 people are currently hospitalized. Some patients are in hospitals outside Hays County but are included in our numbers if they reside here. Likewise, an individual from another county who is in a local hospital would be accounted for in their county of residence
October 23 Report
| Lab-Confirmed | Negative Tests |
Recovered Cases | Active Last 21 days | Active All Cases |
Probable
Cases |
COVID-related Fatalities | Total Hospitalizations | Current Hospitalizations |
| 6,287 | 33,537 | 5,691 | 341 | 510 | 769 | 86 | 366 | 9 |
| Age Range | Female | Male | Total | Fatalities |
| 0-9 yrs. | 106 | 103 | 209 | 0 |
| 10-19 yrs. | 412 | 297 | 709 | 0 |
| 20-29 yrs. | 1,153 | 1,170 | 2,323 | 1 |
| 30-39 yrs. | 523 | 495 | 1,018 | 0 |
| 40-49 yrs. | 403 | 328 | 731 | 3 |
| 50-59 yrs. | 305 | 282 | 587 | 11 |
| 60-69 yrs. | 200 | 164 | 364 | 9 |
| 70-79 yrs. | 108 | 112 | 220 | 29 |
| > 80 yrs. | 68 | 58 | 126 | 33 |
| Total | 3,278 | 3,009 | 6,287 | 86 |
*The Hays County Local Health Department contacts and follows up with every person who tests positive for COVID-19 to ensure they, or other household contacts, are not still contagious before moving them into the “Recovered” category. HCLHD does not clear people based on a calendar, because some individuals can be symptomatic and contagious for many weeks. Also, if a person has multiple family members who are household contacts, it is possible for the virus to last in that household for a period of months until everyone is symptom free.
| Area | Total Cases | Active Cases | Recovered | Fatalities |
| Austin | 74 | 1 | 65 | 8 |
| Bear Creek | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Buda | 857 | 99 | 747 | 11 |
| Creedmoor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Driftwood | 46 | 14 | 32 | 0 |
| Dripping Springs | 117 | 31 | 83 | 3 |
| Hays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle | 1,865 | 322 | 1,520 | 23 |
| Manchaca | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Maxwell | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Mountain City | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Niederwald | 32 | 1 | 31 | 0 |
| San Marcos | 3,126 | 28 | 3,060 | 38 |
| Uhland | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| Wimberley | 117 | 5 | 110 | 2 |
| Woodcreek | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 6,287 | 510 | 5,691 | 86 |
| Ethnicity | Female | Male | Total | Percentage of Cases |
| Hispanic | 1,431 | 1,297 | 2,728 | 43.4% |
| Non-Hispanic | 642 | 622 | 1,264 | 20.1% |
| Not Specified | 1,205 | 1,090 | 2,295 | 36.5% |
| Total | 3,278 | 3,009 | 6,287 | 100.0% |
| Race | Percentage of Cases |
| American Indian | 0.0% |
| Asian | 0.6% |
| Black | 2.4% |
| Native Hawaiian/
Pacific Islander |
0.0% |
| White | 62.5% |
| Not Specified/ Unknown | 34.6% |
NOTE: Some Hays County residents have Austin addresses. Because of HIPAA laws, additional information about patients is not allowed to be shared.
A COVID-19 Fact Sheet is on the County website: https://hayscountytx.com/covid-19-fact-sheet/. The COVID-19 Dashboard has the option to see the stats broken down by individual cities. After selecting “View Cities Dashboard”, use the drop-down menu to search by city. The County’s COVID-19 info is here. As with any emergency situation, www.HaysInformed.com, the countywide emergency notification blog, has a rolling list of important information regarding COVID-19. Many local municipality websites also have information. Several local school districts also have their own COVID-19 dashboards as does Texas State University.
Case Criteria
Confirmed: A case that is laboratory confirmed using a molecular diagnostic test (for example: PCR, Currative RCT-PCR, and Abbott ID Now RCT-PCR)
Probable: A case that:
- Using a method approved or authorized by the FDA or designated authority, meets presumptive laboratory evidence of
- Detection of specific antigen (Ag) in a clinical specimen, OR
- Detection of a specific antibody in serum, plasma, or whole blood indicative of a new or recent infection
- AND meets clinical criteria
OR
- Meets vital records criteria (death certificate lists COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as a cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death) with no confirmatory laboratory testing performed for COVID-19.
Clinical criteria:
- At least two of the following symptoms: fever (measured or subjective), chills, rigors, myalgia, headache, sore throat, new olfactory and taste disorder(s); OR
- At least one of the following symptoms: cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing; OR
- Severe respiratory illness with at least one of the following:
- Clinical or radiographic evidence of pneumonia, or
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
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