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COVID-19 Cases Starting to Rise

Update Nov. 19

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – A recent article by the Associated Press reported, “The U.S. is now averaging nearly 87,000 new coronavirus cases per day, up from 72,000 two weeks ago, and hospitalizations are starting to increase again after steadily falling since the peak of the summer delta variant surge. The country is still averaging more than 1,100 deaths a day, and the number of Americans to die from COVID-19 now stands at 768,000.”

The AP article went on to state approximately 195 million Americans – roughly 59 percent of the U.S. population – are fully vaccinated. Government and health officials are urging more people to get vaccinated, especially the 60 million people who have yet to receive a first dose.

Across the state of Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported 4,192 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 138 related fatalities, on Thursday, Nov. 18.

In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on Nov. 18, there were 18 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 2,764 people who have recovered. There have also been 86 reported deaths. On Nov.4, there were 16 active cases and 85 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. 18 the county had a total of 73 active cases. There have also been 5,477 recoveries and 112 reported deaths. On Nov. 11, there were 95 active cases and 112 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. 18 showed: Angelina – 114 active cases and 418 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 110 active cases with 412 fatalities; Cherokee – 22 active cases and 227 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 10 active cases with 226 fatalities; Freestone –20 active cases and 71 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 14 active cases with 69 fatalities; Henderson – 168 active cases and 346 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 186 active cases with 342 fatalities; Leon – 15 active cases and 70 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 20 active cases with 69 fatalities; Madison – 15 active cases and 45 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 23 active cases with 44 fatalities; Trinity – 27 active cases and 60 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 28 active cases with 60 fatalities; and Walker – 51 active case and 185 fatalities, on Nov. 11 there were 40 active cases with 183 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. 18, 2021, over 3.55 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 71,982 (on Nov. 11 – 71,186) 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. 18 update showed a total of 46,770,381 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 2,681 current hospitalizations, down slightly from 2,717 on Nov. 11. In addition, the TxDSHS reported an estimated 4,127,810 recoveries. There have also been 36,079,806 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 6.54%, up from Nov. 11 when the rate stood at 5.46%.

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. 19, across the US there have been 47,533,764 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 676,993 from Nov. 12.

The CSSE further reported there were 768,717 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of Nov. 19 – an increase of 8,994 fatalities from Nov. 12. So far in the US, 444,303,280 vaccine doses have been administered.

Worldwide, on Nov. 19, as of 9:22 am, there have been 256,310,673 (on Nov. 12 – 252,164,999) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,136,215 (on Nov. 12 – 5,083,730) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 7,614,606,221 vaccine doses have been administered.

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

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