Smith County sees more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 since Monday

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, December 16, 2021

The Northeast Public Health District’s most recent statistics show the total number of active COVID-19 cases in Smith County has increased and over 100 new cases have been reported since Monday.

NET Health’s Thursday data shows 573 total active cases in the county compared to 531 reported Monday.

Smith County also saw 117 new total cases — 28 confirmed and 89 probable — reported in Thursday’s data. Just one month ago at the beginning of November, there were over 1,000 total active cases within the county. Throughout the month of October, there were 2,005 new COVID-19 cases reported within the county compared to September, in which new cases totaled 8,351, according to NET Health data. In November, there were 504 new cases in Smith County.

On Monday, Smith County went back up to a moderate community spread level of 10.12 and on Thursday the level rose to 12.45.

The moderate community spread window consists of a rate between 10 to 35 and indicates sustained transmission with confirmed exposure within congregate settings and potential for rapid increase in cases. 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.

Van Zandt County has the highest moderate spread level in NET Health’s seven-county jurisdiction at 12.62, followed by Wood County at 12.54. All other counties remain in minimal spread levels, with Gregg County at the lowest level of 6.80. On Monday, the lowest level in the area was 3.80.

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.

There have been 37,724 COVID-19 cases in Smith County since the pandemic began. NET Health reports 36,727 total recoveries in Smith County.

According to NET Health, there were 51 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 late July. Thursday’s data is 86% lower than the hospitalization rate of 389 reached in September in Tyler.

No Smith County jail inmates had an active diagnosis of COVID-19 and one inmate has died due to COVID-19, according to NET Health’s data on Thursday,

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.

As of Thursday in Smith County, 53.09% of people age 5 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 46.69% of people age 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state.

State data shows 84.80% of people 65 and older in the county had been vaccinated with at least one dose on Monday, while 78.36% 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.

Other Counties

Gregg County had 33 new cases — six confirmed, 27 probable — reported since Monday. There are 170 total active cases within the county. There have been 19,148 total recoveries reported.

Henderson County had 26 new cases — 13 confirmed, 13 probable — reported since Monday. There are 163 total active cases within the county. There have been 9,746 total recoveries reported.

Van Zandt County had 26 new cases — eight confirmed, 18 probable — reported since Monday. There are 154 total active cases within the county. There have been 8,111 total recoveries reported.

Anderson County had 30 new cases — 14 confirmed, 16 probable — reported since Monday. There are 77 total active cases within the county. There have been 5,561 total recoveries reported.

Wood County had 23 new cases — 15 confirmed, eight probable — reported since Monday. There are 133 total active cases within the county. There have been 6,513 total recoveries reported.

Rains County had one probable new case reported since Monday and there are 18 total active cases within the county. There have been 1,509 total recoveries.

Total recoveries and total active cases include probable and confirmed data. Data gathered in Thursday’s report represents the past 72 hours, from noon Monday to noon Thursday.