The Hays County Local Health Department reported two COVID-19-related deaths and 1,722 new positive cases from Jan. 1-4. The two fatalities were a Buda woman in her 60s and a Kyle man in his 50s.

There are now a total of 4,172 active cases in Hays County, almost three times the amount of active cases reported Dec. 28.

There are currently 13 hospitalized individuals, eight of which are unvaccinated. Of those who are hospitalized, three are in the intensive care unit on ventilators; five are in the ICU without a ventilator; and the other five are not in the ICU.

The total tally of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic is at 35,259, of which 30,671 are considered recovered cases.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports 72.05% of those 5 and older in Hays County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Approximately 61% of those 5 and older in the county are fully vaccinated while 83.29% of those 65 and older are fully vaccinated.

Additionally, Hays CISD and San Marcos CISD have their own COVID-19 dashboards that break down positive cases by campus and differentiate between student and staff cases.

SMCISD reported seven positive cases in students and six positive cases in staff at Bowie, Crockett, Mendez and Rodriguez elementary schools, Miller Middle School and San Marcos High School on the first day back after winter break.