COVID-19 Cases Drop in Texas
Update Dec. 10
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – Despite positive signs that the spread of COVID-19 is slowing down – with the Holiday Season upon us – scientists and medical professionals are concerned a new surge of the disease may be just weeks away from sweeping across the US.
In an article published by The Texas Tribune earlier in the week, it was stated, “The number of Texans hospitalized with COVID-19 is at one of its lowest points since the beginning of the pandemic, and the number of hospitals reporting full ICU units has plateaued. But health experts say the state is not out of the woods just yet. And Texas has now reported its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant. Early indicators suggest the variant is very contagious, but little is known about the severity of disease it causes.”
Across the state of Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported 1,689 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 80 related fatalities, on Thursday, Dec. 9.
In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on Dec. 9, there were 13 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 2,783 people who have recovered. There have also been 88 reported deaths. On Dec. 2, there were 9 active cases and 87 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, Dec. 9 the county had a total of 64 active cases. There have also been 5,541 recoveries and 112 reported deaths. On Dec. 2, there were 73 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 Dec. 9 showed: Angelina – 62 active cases and 422 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 63 active cases with 422 fatalities; Cherokee – 0 active cases and 228 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 15 active cases with 228 fatalities; Freestone – 11 active cases and 73 fatalities, on Dec. 2. there were 6 active cases with 73 fatalities; Henderson – 49 active cases and 352 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 77 active cases with 350 fatalities; Leon – 40 active cases and 71 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 37 active cases with 71 fatalities; Madison – 15 active cases and 46 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 16 active cases with 45 fatalities; Trinity – 25 active cases and 62 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 17 active cases with 62 fatalities; and Walker – 48 active case and 187 fatalities, on Dec. 2 there were 33 active cases with 185 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 Dec. 9, 2021, over 3.6 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 73,227 (on Dec. 2 – 72,808) 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 Dec. 9 update showed a total of 48,515,955 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 3,123 current hospitalizations, up from 2,893 on Dec. 2. In addition, the TxDSHS reported an estimated 4,221,237 recoveries. There have also been 38,412,226 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 Dec. 9, the positivity rate was 8.64%, up from Dec. 2 when the rate stood at 8.57%.
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 Dec. 10, across the US there have been 49,684,488 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 851,087 from Dec. 3.
The CSSE further reported there were 794,905 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of Dec. 10 – an increase of 8,989 fatalities from Dec. 3. So far in the US, 475,198,276 vaccine doses have been administered.
Worldwide, on Dec. 10, as of 10:22 am, there have been 268,774,060 (on Dec. 3 – 264,438,500) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,292,013 (on Dec. 3 – 5,238,702) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 8,366,891,017 vaccine doses have been administered.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
