COVID-19 Numbers Continue Bleak Climb
Update August 27
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – Unfortunately, the numbers of new COVID-19 cases are continuing to trend in the wrong direction. This past week, data published by Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) indicated every county surrounding Houston and Anderson Counties saw at least one death attributed to the Coronavirus. The numbers also pointed to a rise in active cases in every county except Madison.
A week ago, Dr. Mark Casanova, a member of the Texas Medical Association’s COVID-19 Task Force commented, “We are entering the worst surge in sheer numbers. This is the fourth round of what should have been a three-round fight. We do have very sincere concerns that the numbers game is going to overwhelm us.”
Statewide, TxDSHS reported another 13,633 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 236 related fatalities in the Lone Star State on Thursday, Aug. 26.
In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on Aug. 26, there were 206 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 2,044 people who have recovered. There have also been 61 reported deaths. Last week, there were 148 active cases and 60 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, Aug. 26 the county had a total of 354 active cases. There have also been 3,609 recoveries and 84 reported deaths. Last week, there were 238 active cases and 83 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 Aug. 19 showed: Angelina – 1,428 active cases and 302 fatalities, last week there were 907 active cases with 294 fatalities; Cherokee – 408 active cases and 151 fatalities, last week there were 290 active cases with 150 fatalities; Freestone – 174 active cases and 55 fatalities, last week there were 165 active cases with 54 fatalities; Henderson – 1,057 active cases and 216 fatalities, last week there were 754 active cases with 208 fatalities; Leon – 168 active cases and 46 fatalities, last week there were 143 active cases with 44 fatalities; Madison – 102 active cases and 33 fatalities, last week there were 110 active cases with 32 fatalities; Trinity – 165 active cases and 36 fatalities, last week there were 129 active cases with 35 fatalities; and Walker – 417 active case and 140 fatalities, last week there were 374 active cases with 137 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 Aug. 26, 2021, approximately 2.96 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 54,691 Texans had suffered a COVID-19 related death. Furthermore, 254 out of 254 – or 100% of counties in the state of Texas – now have at least one active case of COVID-19.
The Aug. 26 update showed a total of 36,772,012 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 13,932 current hospitalizations, up from 12,705 last week. The TxDSHS also reported 3,141,636 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 Aug. 26, the positivity rate was 16.03%, down from last week when the rate stood at 18.5%.
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 Aug. 27, across the US there have been 38,392,250 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 1,077,404 from a week ago.
The CSSE also reported there were 633,613 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of Aug. 27 – an increase of 8,076 deaths from a week ago.
Worldwide, on Aug. 27, as of 9:21 am, there have been 214,858,536 (last week – 210,243,119) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 4,478,480 (last week – 4,408,024) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 5,117,403,149 vaccine doses have been administered.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
