By Megan Wehring School districts and cities implemented protocols after health officials released new quarantine and isolation guidelines.  On Dec. 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the recommended isolation time for the public. People who test positive for CO...

By Megan Wehring With the recent emergence of the Omicron variant, doctors and health officials are urging people to get fully vaccinated and boosted.  “Vaccination is extremely critical for people,” said Dr. Michael Kerr at Ascension Seton Hays, “especially at high risk to give them both protection...

Staff Report SAN MARCOS -- Texas State University students will be attending classes remotely for a short period of time. In response to the surge of COVID-19 cases, the university announced Monday that classes will be temporarily moved to online or remote delivery Jan. 18 through Jan. 30. "I cannot...

By Megan Wehring   HAYS COUNTY — Employees at Ascension hospitals are now required to be vaccinated against both COVID-19 and the flu.   The hospital network, which includes Seton Hays in Kyle, announced in July that employees would need to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 12 to remain employed. This man...

By Sahar Chmais Children ages five to 11 can receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, but the Hays County Local Health Department is still waiting on its vaccine allotment. The Live Oak Health Clinic will offer pediatric doses of the vaccine as soon as it receives its allotment, but no time frame has be...

Volunteers from the parish at the Buda United Methodist Church gathered Friday morning to plant 375 crosses on the church grounds to recognize the Hays County residents that have died of COVID-19. Senior Pastor at the church, Lisa Straus, said since the crosses were made a few days ago — nine more p...

By Sahar Chmais Nearly 65% of eligible Hays County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and some have begun receiving their booster shots. As of Aug. 13, immunocompromised Texans became eligible to receive a booster shot using the the Pfizer vaccine. Since then, more than 9,300 Hay...

By Megan Wehring While COVID-19 boosters may be on many minds, doctors say it’s important to not forget about flu shots. “We have been dealing with the flu vaccine for a lot of years,” said Dr. David Martin, Chief Medical Officer at Ascension Seton Hays. “We know what the adverse effects are.” The t...

Staff Report  So far, 400 Hays County residents have applied to the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program. But with four ERA employees processing the applications, the process is moving slowly. For more efficiency in processing applications, Hays County will expand the ERA program through the Co...

By Sahar Chmais COVID-19 hospitalizations have stayed steady since a gradual decrease two weeks ago. As of Monday, Sept. 27, there were 43 Hays County residents hospitalized with COVID-19. Last week, that number was 44 . A total of 364 COVID-related fatalities have occurred in Hays County. Of the 43...