COVID-19 Update July 2

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY – With nearly 42 percent of the entire country fully vaccinated, the numbers of newly reported cases – along with deaths related to COVID-19 – are showing a downward trend across the nation.

According to an Associated Press analysis of available government data from May, “Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren’t vaccinated, a staggering demonstration of how effective the shots have been and an indication that deaths per day — now down to under 300 — could be practically zero if everyone eligible got the vaccine.”

As a result, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidelines in the fight against the virus.

The CDC stated, “If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”

Even though it appears the health care industry has turned the corner on the disease, new variants of the virus are continually being found which indicate COVID-19 is – unfortunately – not going away any time soon.

On the local front, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported another 28 COVID-19 related fatalities in the Lone Star State on Thursday, July 1.

In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on July 1, there were 30 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 1,847 people who have recovered. There have also been 58 reported deaths. Last week, there were 31 active cases and 58 deaths. 

The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Houston County on April 17 of last year, when it was learned three individuals had tested positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, in Anderson County, it was announced on Thursday, July 1, the county had a total of 29 active cases. There have also been 3,482 recoveries and 82 reported deaths. Last week, there were 31 active cases and 82 deaths.   

On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, it was reported Anderson County had its first confirmed case of the virus.

The number of active cases and fatalities per county – for those counties surrounding Houston and Anderson Counties – as of July 1 showed:  Angelina – 39 active cases and 287 fatalities, last week there were 41 active cases with 286 fatalities; Cherokee – 9 active cases and 145 fatalities, last week there were 8 active cases with 145 fatalities; Freestone – 15 active cases and 50 fatalities, last week there were 12 active cases with 50 fatalities; Henderson – 82 active cases and 194 fatalities, last week there were 80 active cases with 194 fatalities; Leon – 3 active cases and 43 fatalities, last week there were also 3 active cases with 43 fatalities; Madison – 6 active cases and 30 fatalities, last week there were 0 active cases with 30 fatalities; Trinity – 9 active cases and 29 fatalities, last week there were  active cases with 28 fatalities; and Walker – 0 active case and 133 fatalities, last week there were 0 active cases with 132 fatalities.

The Messenger first started tracking the spread of the virus in the East Texas area on Wednesday, March 25 of last year. At that time, TxDSHS reported 974 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus Disease and 12 deaths throughout the Lone Star State.

Also, on that Wednesday, the TxDSHS indicated 82 out of 254 counties in the state of Texas had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. Of those counties – as of March 25, 2020 – the only county with a confirmed case of the Coronavirus bordering Houston or Anderson County was Walker County. 

By July 1, 2021, approximately 2.54 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 51,273 Texans had suffered a COVID-19 related death. Furthermore, 254 out of 254 – or 100% of counties in the state of Texas – now have or have had at least one active case of COVID-19.

The July 1 update showed a total of 31,890,329 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 1,502 current hospitalizations, up slightly from 1,496 last week. The TxDSHS also reported 2,881,489 recoveries.    

Another metric touted by state officials has been the positivity rate. The positivity rate is found by dividing the number of new cases (previous 7 days) by the number of new test results (previous 7 days). 

On July 1, the positivity rate was 4.79%, an increase from last week when the rate stood at 3.92%.   

Moving to the national stage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), as of July 2, across the US there have been 33,681,328 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 89,658 from a week ago.

The CSSE also reported there were 605,062 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of June 25 – an increase of 1,875 deaths from a week ago.       

Worldwide, on July 2, as of 10:21 am, there have been 182,763,721 (last week – 180,098,221) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 3,957,898 (last week – 3,902,458) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 3,122,658,861 vaccine doses have been administered.  

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].