Update on Spread of Coronavirus – June 4
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – As the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine continues to gain traction, the numbers of newly reported cases are showing a downward trend across the nation.
Three weeks ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its guidelines in the fight against the virus.
According to the CDC, “If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”
Even though it appears the health care industry has turned the corner on the disease, new variants of the virus are continually being found which indicate COVID-19 is – unfortunately – not going away any time soon.
On the local front, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS) reported another 58 COVID-19 related fatalities in the Lone Star State on Thursday, June 3.
In addition, the TxDSHS indicated on June 3, there were 16 estimated, active cases in Houston County with approximately 1,613 people who have recovered. There have also been 55 reported deaths. Last week, there were 23 active cases and 55 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, June 3, the county had a total of 204 active cases. There have also been 3,265 recoveries and 83 reported deaths. Last week, there were 183 active cases and 82 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 May 27 showed: Angelina – 80 active cases and 284 fatalities, last week there were 34 active cases with 283 fatalities; Cherokee – 20 active cases and 142 fatalities, last week there were 27 active cases with 142 fatalities; Freestone – 33 active cases and 50 fatalities, last week there were 50 active cases with 50 fatalities; Henderson – 155 active cases and 191 fatalities, last week there were 186 active cases with 191 fatalities; Leon – 10 active cases and 43 fatalities, last week there were also 11 active cases with 43 fatalities; Madison – 11 active cases and 30 fatalities, last week there were 18 active cases with 29 fatalities; Trinity – 22 active cases and 26 fatalities, last week there were 21 active cases with 26 fatalities; and Walker – 0 active case and 131 fatalities, last week there were 0 active cases with 130 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 June 3, 2021, approximately 2.52 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Texas while 50,544 Texans had suffered a COVID-19 related death. Furthermore, 254 out of 254 – or 100% of counties in the state of Texas – now have or have had at least one active case of COVID-19.
The June 3 update showed a total of 30,489,319 Coronavirus tests had been administered in Texas with 1,566 current hospitalizations, down from 1,899 last week. The TxDSHS also reported 2,826,931 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 June 3, the positivity rate was 3.11%, a decrease from last week when the rate stood at 3.42%.
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 June 4, across the US there have been 33,327,911 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – an increase of 107,969 from a week ago.
The CSSE also reported there were 596,518 US residents who had suffered a COVID-19 related death as of June 4 – an increase of 3,193 deaths from a week ago.
Worldwide, on June 4, as of 10:24 pm, there have been 172,245,410 (last week – 1669,071,044) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 3,704,026 (last week – 3,513,320) deaths attributed to the virus. The CDC, WHO and the CSSE are also reporting 2,038,807,931 individuals have been vaccinated.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
