Customers wait in the drive-thru pharmacy line at Walgreens on Fourth Street at Loop 281 in Longview.

Public health officials on Monday reported 481 total new COVID-19 related cases in Smith County over the weekend, along with a slight decrease in the rate of community spread of the virus in the county.

The Northeast Texas Public Health District’s twice-weekly report showed 481 new cases of COVID-19 in Smith County: 289 new confirmed cases along with 192 probable cases. Total active cases within the county are now at 6,613.

According to NET Health, there were 331 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals on Monday, which is lower than a peak high of 389 set earlier this month on Labor Day weekend.

About 24 Smith County Jail inmates on Monday had an active diagnosis of COVID-19, according to NET Health. One inmate has died due to COVID-19.

Data gathered in Monday’s report represents the past 72 hours, from noon Thursday to noon Monday.

In data released Monday, Smith County’s seven-day rolling rate of infection decreased by 30.69%, coming in at 106.79. The spread level is determined by taking the average number of all COVID-19 positive cases from the previous seven days. That number is then divided by the population of the county and multiplied by 100,000.

All seven counties covered by NET Health on Thursday again had “substantial” levels of community spread. Substantial community spread represents “large-scale, uncontrolled community transmission,” according to NET Health.

On Monday, the latest day for which data was available, there were 740 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, 259 of those were in ICUs. Just more than a week ago, hospitalizations reached 822, the highest number of single-day COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region since the pandemic began.

Hospitalizations in recent weeks have surpassed a peak in January when the single-day number of patients peaked at 684 on Jan. 6.

In Smith County, 53.97% of people 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 46.04% of people 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 81.75% of people aged 65 and older in the county had been vaccinated with at least one dose on Thursday, while 75.12% of that population had been fully vaccinated.

Other countiesGregg County had 1,090 confirmed and 2,561 probable active cases Thursday. Confirmed recoveries were at 7,316, while there were 6,817 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.

Henderson County had 936 confirmed active cases and 637 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 4,893, and there were 2,464 probable recoveries in the county, NET Health said.

Van Zandt County had 739 confirmed active cases and 685 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 3,466, and 2,245 people had likely recovered in Van Zandt County, NET Health reported.

Anderson County had 204 confirmed active cases and 818 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 2,186, and probable recoveries were at 1,820, the health district reported.

Wood County had 618 confirmed active cases and 715 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries in Wood County were at 2,505, and there were 1,907 probable recoveries, NET Health said.

Rains County had 119 confirmed active and 176 probable active diagnoses, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 533, and there were 504 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.