NET Health: Smith County’s minimal spread level drops 5% since Monday

Published 4:59 pm Thursday, November 18, 2021

Smith County’s minimal community spread levels of COVID-19 have dropped by more than 5% since Monday’s Northeast Texas Public Health District report, continuing a downward trend. Active cases in the county also dropped by 10% since Monday.

Additionally, after data showed all counties simultaneously reached minimal community spread levels of COVID-19 since early summer, data released in NET Health’s Thursday report shows Van Zandt County’s seven-day rolling rate of infection increased to a level of 11.86 and sent the county into moderate spreads of the virus, breaking the seven-county’s simultaneous minimal spread record.

Of the six counties remaining in minimal spreads, Smith’s level is now 8.59, second highest next only to Wood County’s 8.78 level. Rains remains at the lowest minimal spread level of 3.42.

The minimal community spread window consists of a rate of between zero and 10 and 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. 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.

Just over one month ago in the week ending Sept. 23, each county had levels of community spread that were substantial — or 35 or more new cases per week adjusted for population.

Smith County saw 77 new total cases reported in Thursday’s data, with 27 new confirmed cases and 44 new probable cases. There are now 531 total active cases within the county, as opposed to the 594 total active cases reported Monday in Smith County. At the beginning of the month, there were over 1,000 total active cases within the county.

Last week, Smith County’s number of total new COVID-19 cases decreased by nearly 77% within a month. Throughout October, there were 1,913 new COVID-19 cases reported within the county compared to September, in which new cases totaled 8,351, according to NET Health data. There have been 36,952 COVID-19 cases in the county since the pandemic began.

According to NET Health, there were 67 East Texans being treated for COVID-19 at Tyler hospitals on Thursday. The last time Smith County saw a similarly low local hospitalization rate was in August. Thursday’s data is 82% lower than the hospitalization rate of 389 reached two months ago in Tyler.

No Smith County jail inmates had an active diagnosis of COVID-19, according to NET Health. One inmate has died due to COVID-19.

On Thursday, there were 97 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately nine fewer than there were on Monday. Of COVID patients hospitalized, 36 of those are in ICUs and 30 patients are on ventilators. In the first half of September, hospitalizations reached 822, the highest number of single-day COVID-19 hospitalizations in the region since the pandemic began.

As of Nov. 4, children 5 to 11 years of age are included in vaccination numbers and rates.

In Smith County, 51.71% of people age 5 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 45.71% of people age 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 84.04% of people 65 and older in the county had been vaccinated with at least one dose on Monday, while 77.84% of that population had been fully vaccinated.

Other Counties

Gregg County had 88 confirmed active cases and 71 probable active cases Thursday. Confirmed recoveries were at 8,914, while there were 10,050 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.

Henderson County had 101 confirmed active cases and 57 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 6,231, and there were 3,339 probable recoveries in the county, NET Health said.

Van Zandt County had 70 confirmed active cases and 71 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 4,606, and 3,340 people had likely recovered in Van Zandt County, NET Health reported.

Anderson County had 26 confirmed active cases and 47 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 2,536, and probable recoveries were at 2,941, the health district reported.

Wood County had 55 confirmed active cases and 45 probable active cases, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries in Wood County were at 3,451 with 2,925 probable recoveries, NET Health said.

Rains County had 9 confirmed active and 7 probable active diagnoses, NET Health said. Confirmed recoveries were at 721 with 771 probable recoveries, according to NET Health.

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