Gregg County’s active cases, community spread levels of COVID-19 up slightly

Published 4:18 pm Thursday, December 16, 2021

Active cases of COVID-19 in Gregg County have increased slightly, according to public health data released Thursday.

On Thursday, active cases in county residents increased by almost 7% from Monday, according to statistics released by the Northeast Texas Public Health District. The county’s active cases increased from 159 on Monday to 170 Thursday. NET Health reported 33 new cases — six confirmed and 27 probable — in the county as of Thursday.

The county’s seven-day rolling rate of COVID-19 infection increased to 6.80 Thursday. The rate increased by more than 13%, reported at 5.99 on Monday. However, Gregg County has the lowest level in the public health district’s seven-county jurisdiction followed behind Rains County, which has a level of 6.84.

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 seven-day rolling rate 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.

There have been 19,603 COVID-19 cases in Gregg County since the pandemic began, with 19,148 total recoveries, according to NET Health.

Three Gregg County jail inmates had an active diagnosis of COVID-19, according to NET Health’s data on Thursday. There have been no virus-related jail deaths reported through the week, according to the district.

In Gregg County, 53.84% of people age 5 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Thursday, while 47.21% of residents 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state. State data shows 87.75% of people 65 and older had been vaccinated with at least one dose as of Thursday, while 80.58% of that population had been fully vaccinated. As of Nov. 4, children 5 to 11 years of age are included in vaccination numbers and rates.

On Thursday, there were 98 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately 10 fewer than Monday. Of COVID patients hospitalized, 26 of those are in ICUs and 18 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.