New COVID-19 cases in Gregg County more than double; active cases up 110%

Published 7:30 pm Thursday, January 6, 2022

New cases of COVID-19 in Gregg County more than doubled in three days as the number of active cases in the county increased by more than 110%, according to Thursday data from the Northeast Public Health District.

Active cases of the virus jumped from 581 active cases as reported Monday to 1,225 on Thursday. About a month ago, NET Health reported 136 active cases in Gregg County.

About 925 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Gregg County this week — more than double the 435 new cases reported in December.

In November, 121 new cases were reported in Gregg County compared with 723 and 4,099 in October and September, respectively.

Thursday’s data from NET Health show 674 new cases — 265 confirmed and 409 probable — reported since Monday when 251 new cases were reported.

NET Health defines probable cases as those attributed to patients who have received positive antigen tests until the individual has been administered a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. If a person’s PCR laboratory result is positive, that becomes a confirmed case.

Gregg County’s community transmission rate has more than doubled since a week ago and is at a “substantial” rate of 51.29 compared to with 22.36 as reported Dec. 30.

A substantial rate means large-scale, uncontrolled community transmission of the virus in places such as grocery stores, schools, churches, workplaces, nursing homes, daycares and other congregate settings, according to NET Health.

As of Thursday, all seven counties in NET Health’s jurisdiction have reached “substantial” transmission levels, with Smith County posting the highest rate of 115.20.

Substantial seven-day rolling rates are measured on a level of 35 or more, compared with moderate measured at a level of 10 to 35 and minimal at a level of zero to 10.

According to NET Health, the rate calculates the average number of all COVID-positive cases from the previous seven days. That answer is then divided by the population of the county, multiplied by 100,000, and that final number equals the rate.

On Thursday, there were 213 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G. Of patients hospitalized, 43 of those are in ICUs and 13 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. Similar trends were last seen in late October.

As of Thursday in Gregg County, 54.85% of people age 5 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 47.96% of people age 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, according to the state. State data shows 88.38% of people 65 and older in the county had been vaccinated with at least one dose on Thursday, while 80.89% 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.

No Gregg County jail inmates have an active diagnosis of COVID-19, and one inmate has died due to COVID-19 since Monday’s report, according to NET Health.

Just two weeks ago, Gregg County reached a minimal spread level for the first time since earlier this month. As of Dec. 28, all counties had reached moderate spread.

Smith County had 1,255 new cases — 678 confirmed, 577 probable — reported since Monday, according to NET Health. There are 2,862 total active cases within the county, compared with 1,691 as reported Monday.