Spread of COVID-19 in Gregg County remains steady over past week

Published 5:00 pm Monday, September 27, 2021

The rate of COVID-19 spread in Gregg County remains about half of what it was in early September.

The Northeast Texas Public Health District, known as NET Health, reported Monday that Gregg County’s seven-day rolling rate of infection has remained steady over the past week at 74.11. That rate still is more than double NET Health’s threshold for “substantial” community spread. However, it’s lower than the week of Sept. 3 through 9, when the seven-day rolling rate reached 142.92.

The level of community spread 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. A county reaches “substantial” community spread when its seven-day rolling rate is at or more than 35 cases. Substantial community spread represents “large-scale, uncontrolled community transmission,” according to the health district.

Also Monday, 185 total new COVID-19 cases were reported in Gregg County. NET Health’s twice-weekly report showed 95 new confirmed cases along with 90 probable cases. Total active cases within the county are at 3,985.

According to NET Health, there were 297 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals Monday, which is almost 24% lower than the high of 389, which was set earlier this month just after Labor Day weekend.

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

Recoveries in Gregg County increased from 14,222 on Thursday to 14,255 Monday.

On Monday, the latest day for which data was available, there were 629 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately 94 fewer than Thursday. Of COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 258 of those are in ICUs. Earlier this month, hospitalizations reached 822, the highest number of single-day COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region since the pandemic began.

Monday’s report on patients hospitalized in Trauma Region G is the lowest number in the region since Aug. 19.

In Gregg County as of Monday, 55.90% of people 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 47.77% of residents 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 84.13% of Texas residents 65 and older had been vaccinated with at least one dose as of Monday, while 77.39% had been fully vaccinated.