Smith County sees slight rise in COVID-19 community spread

Published 3:57 pm Thursday, October 7, 2021

After weeks of plummeting COVID-19 community spread rates, there was a slight uptick in Thursday’s Northeast Texas Public Health District report.

The most recent report saw Smith County’s spread rate rise from 40.69 to 41.18. That still reflects a drop of more than 70% from mid-September.

Smith County is one of five counties covered by NET Health with “substantial” levels of community spread. Substantial community spread represents “large-scale, uncontrolled community transmission,” according to NET Health.

In Monday’s report, Gregg County joined Henderson and Anderson counties in moving into “moderate” spread levels. Thursday’s numbers saw Gregg County rise slightly, returning to “substantial” spread.

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.

In total, 291 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Thursday in Smith County, with 114 new confirmed cases and 177 new probable cases. There are now 5,840 total active cases within the county.

According to NET Health, there were 202 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals on Thursday, which is about 48% lower than the high of 389, which was set earlier this month just after Labor Day weekend.

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

Data gathered in Thursday’s report represents the past 48 hours, from noon Monday to noon Thursday.

On Thursday, there were 447 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately 65 fewer than there were on Monday. Of COVID patients hospitalized, 163 of those are in ICUs and 161 patients are on ventilators. Earlier this month, 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, 55.36% of people 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 48.18% of people 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 82.52% of people age 65 and older in the county had been vaccinated with at least one dose on Thursday, while 76.08% of that population had been fully vaccinated.

Other counties

Gregg County had 972 confirmed and 1,784 probable active cases Thursday. Confirmed recoveries were at 7,798, while there were 8,129 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.

Henderson County had 742 confirmed active cases and 490 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 5,368, and there were 2,771 probable recoveries in the county, NET Health said.

Van Zandt County had 741 confirmed active cases and 666 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 3,725, and 2,515 people had likely recovered in Van Zandt County, NET Health reported.

Anderson County had 158 confirmed active cases and 714 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 2,310, and probable recoveries were at 2,125, the health district reported.

Wood County had 533 confirmed active cases and 618 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries in Wood County were at 2,814, and there were 2,226 probable recoveries, NET Health said.

Rains County had 17 confirmed active and seven probable active diagnoses, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 589, and there were 577 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.

There are 15,731 men with a diagnosis and 19,102 women with a diagnosis. Approximately 4,112 individuals from 0 to 20 years of age have a diagnosis, while 6,642 individuals aged 21 to 40 years of age also have a diagnosis. There are 4,902 individuals aged 41 to 59 with a diagnosis, 3,214 individuals aged 60 to 79 with a diagnosis, as well as 844 individuals over 80 years of age.