New covid cases in Gregg County decrease by nearly 83% in 60 days.

Published 5:53 pm Monday, November 8, 2021

Public health data show a dramatic decrease in new cases of COVID-19 from September to October in Gregg County, and a report released Monday afternoon showed just six new confirmed cases of the virus in county residents since Thursday.

The lower numbers continue a decrease in the frequency of new cases in the county, which were accelerated in previous months by the highly contagious Delta variant.

In October, there were 690 total new cases of COVID-19 in Gregg County residents, according to the Northeast Texas Public Health District, known as NET Health. The number is 83% lower than the 4,099 total new cases reported the previous month.

NET Health on Monday reported that 15 total — six confirmed and nine probable — cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Gregg County since its previous report on Thursday afternoon. The previous report showed 33 new total cases. The health district reported 265 total active cases in the county on Monday compared to 310 in Thursday’s report.

Gregg County’s seven-day rolling rate of new cases on Monday also continued to decrease. The county’s rate was 5.53, almost dead center of the minimal community spread window, which consists of a rate of between zero and 10. Minimal community spread indicates evidence of isolated cases or limited community transmission, that cases are underway and that there is no evidence of exposure in large, congregate settings.

NET Health also provides disease surveillance for the counties of Smith, Anderson, Henderson, Rains, Van Zandt and Wood. 

About a month ago, the week ending Sept. 23, each of the seven counties covered by NET Health had levels of community spread that were substantial — or 35 or more new cases per week adjusted for population. On Monday, Smith, Wood and Van Zandt displayed moderate levels of community spread with other counties in the lower minimal category. 

According to NET Health, there were 84 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals on Monday, one more than reported Thursday. Monday’s data is 78% lower than the pandemic-high hospitalization rate of 389, which was reached just two months ago in Tyler.

On Monday, there were 143 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately 18 fewer than there were on Thursday. Of COVID patients hospitalized, 65 of those are in ICUs and 53 patients are on ventilators. In early September, hospitalizations reached 822, the highest number of single-day COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region since the pandemic began.

In Gregg County, 45.78% of people 5 and older were fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 on Monday, according to the state. On Monday, 79.40% of county residents 65 and older had been fully vaccinated.