NET Health: Gregg County’s COVID-19 cases down significantly

Published 5:01 pm Thursday, October 28, 2021

By Raquel Torres
rtorres@tylerpaper.com

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Gregg County plummeted 22%, and community spread levels remained stagnant in Thursday’s bi-weekly update from the Northeast Texas Public Health District.

Gregg County’s community spread level stood at 10.83 Thursday, remaining just above the line between “minimal” and “moderate” community spread, which consists of a rate of between 10 and 35.

Moderate community spread indicates sustained transmission with confirmed exposure within congregate settings and potential for a rapid increase in cases.

NET Health reported 47 total new cases of COVID-19 in the county since Monday’s report and a drop in overall active cases of COVID-19 in the county. Total active cases in the county fell from 647 on Monday to 506 Thursday.

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



Levels on Thursday showed no change for Gregg County and a decline in Smith County. About a month ago, the week ending Sept. 23, each of the counties had levels of community spread that were substantial — or 35 or more new cases per week adjusted for population.

According to NET Health, there were 103 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 73% lower than the high hospitalization rate of 389, which was reached just over a month ago in Tyler.

On Thursday, there were 207 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state’s 19-county Trauma Region G, approximately 26 fewer than there were on Monday. Of COVID patients hospitalized, 101 of those are in ICUs and 80 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, 50.99% of people 12 and older were fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 on Thursday, according to the state. On Thursday, 79.21% of Gregg County residents 65 and older had been fully vaccinated.