Spread of COVID-19 in Gregg County declines; community spread level again ‘moderate’

Published 5:27 pm Monday, October 11, 2021

COVID-19’s spread in Gregg County continues to ease as public health officials on Monday announced fewer than half the number of new cases than in their previous report.

The Northeast Texas Public Health District reported 81 new cases of COVID-19 — 47 confirmed and 34 probable — in Gregg County residents since its report on Thursday that showed 156 total new cases in county residents. Monday’s report included four days, while Thursday’s was the previous three days.

NET Health on Monday also reported Gregg County’s community spread level dropped again from “substantial” to “moderate.”

The county’s community spread level, which is set based on its seven-day rolling rate of infection, has gone from substantial to moderate, back to substantial and again to moderate in recent reports.

On Monday, the rolling rate for the past seven days in Gregg County was 27.31, about 29% lower than Thursday’s report.

Moderate spread, which represents an average of 10 to 35 new cases per day in the previous week, means there is “sustained transmission with confirmed exposure within congregate settings, and potential for rapid increase in cases,” according to NET Health. Substantial community spread, which is an average of more than 35 new cases, is “large scale, uncontrolled community transmission.”

In its latest report, NET Health shows Gregg is joined by Anderson, Henderson and Wood counties in having moderate levels of community spread. The other three counties for which the district provides disease surveillance — Rains, Smith and Van Zandt — remained at substantial levels of community spread.

Recoveries from the virus in Gregg County residents also rose significantly since NET Health last released numbers on Thursday. Monday’s report showed 16,891 confirmed and probable recoveries compared to 15,927 on Thursday. There were 1,869 active cases of COVID-19 in county residents on Monday, according to NET Health.

The health district reported it would no longer report deaths from the virus beginning Aug. 31. The state, however, continues to track deaths.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has not increased its death count for Gregg County since Oct. 3.

According to NET Health, there were 198 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals on Monday, which is about 49% lower than the high of 389, which was set this past month just after Labor Day weekend.

On Sunday, the latest day for which data was available, the state reported 379 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in 19-county Trauma Region G, which includes Longview and Tyler. That is the lowest number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment in the region since Aug. 6 when there were 373 patients, according to the state.

On Monday, 56.98% of Gregg County residents 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 49.73% of residents 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 84.81% of Gregg County residents 65 and older had been vaccinated with at least one dose as of Monday, while 78.25% had been fully vaccinated.