COVID-19 Cases Continue to Spike
Update Jan. 14
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – In a Jan. 11 article published by Reuters, it was reported, “The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily total for any country in the world as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing. The previous record was 1.03 million cases on Jan. 3.”
The article, written by Lisa Shumaker, went on to state, “The record in new cases came the same day as the nation saw the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients also hit an all-time high, having doubled in three weeks.”
Across the state of Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported 59,268 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 along with 117 related fatalities, on Thursday, Jan. 13.
In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on Jan. 13, there were 313 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 2,895 people who have recovered. There have also been 91 reported deaths. On Jan. 6, there were 195 active cases and 91 deaths.
The first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Houston County on April 17, 2020, when it was learned three individuals had tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, in Anderson County, it was announced on Thursday, Jan. 13 the county had a total of 797 active cases. There have also been 5,634 recoveries and 115 reported deaths. On Jan. 6, there were 365 active cases and 114 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 Jan. 13 showed: Angelina – 657 active cases and 432 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 409 active cases with 429 fatalities; Cherokee – 520 active cases and 230 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 238 active cases with 230 fatalities; Freestone – 270 active cases and 75 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 161 active cases with 75 fatalities; Henderson – 1,581 active cases and 360 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 776 active cases with 359 fatalities; Leon – 254 active cases and 74 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 153 active cases with 74 fatalities; Madison – 410 active cases and 47 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 207 active cases with 46 fatalities; Trinity – 193 active cases and 64 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 133 active cases with 64 fatalities; and Walker – 2,025 active cases and 189 fatalities, on Jan. 6 there were 171 active cases with 188 fatalities.
The Messenger first started tracking the spread of the virus in the East Texas area on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 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 Jan. 6, 2021, over 4.38 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 75,650 (on Jan. 6 – 75,128) 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 Jan. 13 update showed a total of 53,502,199 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 11,653 current hospitalizations, up significantly from 9,216 on Jan. 6. In addition, the TxDSHS reported an estimated 4,445,607 patient recoveries. There have also been 41,858,108 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 Jan. 6, the positivity rate was 35.7%, down slightly from Jan. 6 when the rate stood at 36.46%.
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 Jan. 14, across the US there have been 64,321,367 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 5,718,370 from Jan. 6.
The CSSE further reported there were 847,105 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of Jan. 7 – an increase of 12,784 fatalities from Jan. 7. So far in the US, 521,596,418 vaccine doses have been administered.
Worldwide, on Jan. 14, as of 11:21 am, there have been 321,266,580 (on Jan. 7 – 301,062,353) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 5,525,560 (on Jan. 7 –5,475,710) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 9,576,855,531 vaccine doses have been administered.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
