COVID-19 Cases Down, Death Toll Continues to Climb

Update Nov. 12

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – With the ongoing debates on masks, vaccines and booster shots still making headlines, the COVID-19 statistics are starting to trend in a positive direction. However, certain pockets of the country are starting to see yet another surge take hold.

Across the state of Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported 3,034 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 165 related fatalities, on Thursday, Nov. 11.

In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on Nov. 11, there were 16 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 2,764 people who have recovered. There have also been 85 reported deaths. On Nov.4, there were 19 active cases and 81 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, Nov. 11 the county had a total of 95 active cases. There have also been 5,428 recoveries and 114 reported deaths. On Nov. 4, there were 157 active cases and 111 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 cumulative fatalities per county – for those counties surrounding Houston and Anderson Counties – as of Nov. 11 showed: Angelina – 110 active cases and 412 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 138 active cases with 407 fatalities; Cherokee – 10 active cases and 226 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 25 active cases with 223 fatalities; Freestone –14 active cases and 69 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 34 active cases with 69 fatalities; Henderson – 186 active cases and 342 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 212 active cases with 339 fatalities; Leon – 20 active cases and 69 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 20 active cases with 69 fatalities; Madison – 23 active cases and 44 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 32 active cases with 43 fatalities; Trinity – 28 active cases and 60 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 51 active cases with 60 fatalities; and Walker – 40 active case and 183 fatalities, on Nov. 4 there were 58 active cases with 182 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 Nov. 11, 2021, over 3.54 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 71,186 (on Nov. 4 – 70,402) 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 Nov. 11 update showed a total of 46,189,486 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 2,717 current hospitalizations, down from 3,100 on Nov. 4. In addition, the TxDSHS reported an estimated 4,104,911 recoveries. There have also been 35,420,138 vaccine doses given in Texas.

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 Nov. 11, the positivity rate was 5.46%, up slightly from Nov. 4 when the rate stood at 5.27%.

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 Nov. 12, across the US there have been 46,856,771 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 504,407 from Nov. 5.

The CSSE further reported there were 759,723 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of Nov. 12 – an increase of 7,851 fatalities from Nov. 5. So far in the US, 432,808,435 vaccine doses have been administered.

Worldwide, on Nov. 12, as of 9:21 am, there have been 252,164,999 (on Nov. 5 – 248,848,529) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,083,730 (on Nov. 5 – 5,034,060) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 7,406,882,936 vaccine doses have been administered.

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