COVID-19 coverage graphic

Smith County COVID-19 cases rose by 60 over the weekend for a new cumulative count of 2,369.

The Northeast Texas Public Health District also announced on Monday that positive antigen tests reported to the health district will be shared along with COVID-19 updates on weekdays.

A positive result from an antigen test is considered a probable case of COVID-19 until a person receives a Polymerase Chain Reaction test. A person who has a positive PCR test has an active COVID-19 infection. Someone who receives both a positive antigen test and PCR test will only be counted once, NET Health said.

NET Health said there are 1,705 active cases, 647 recoveries and 17 deaths. Recoveries went up by one since Friday, while deaths remained the same. As of Monday, Smith County has 280 positive antigen tests.

One-hundred and fifty-five East Texas patients are receiving treatment at Tyler hospitals, which is down by two from Friday.

Texas Department of State Health Services has asked all health departments to begin reporting COVID-19 positive antigen results as a part of regular updates, George Roberts, NET Health CEO, said.

A negative antigen test does not always imply that the person does not have active COVID-19 infection.

None of the weekday updates from NET Health include positive antibody reports. Antibodies show a person may have had COVID-19 in the past, but it cannot be associated with a person having an active COVID-19 infection.

Other counties

Gregg County added one virus death and 29 cases. Twenty-three people have died from COVID-19. Cumulative case count has reached 1,410. Recoveries remained at 276, according to the Gregg County Health Department.

Wood County has 302 cases, including 188 recoveries and 10 deaths. The county’s death count includes five Winnsboro residents, an Alba resident and four people from Mineola, according to NET Health.

Anderson County has 481 cases, including 184 recoveries and deaths of four Palestine residents, according to NET Health. These numbers do not reflect inmates at the prisons in Tennessee Colony.

Henderson County has 604 cases, including 161 recoveries and eight deaths. The county’s virus death toll includes three Athens residents, two Chandler residents and one person each from Malakoff, Mabank and Trinidad, according to NET Health.

Van Zandt County cases are at 351 with 113 recoveries and four deaths. The county’s death count includes a Canton resident, Grand Saline resident, Edgewood resident and a Murchison woman, NET Health data shows.

Rains County has 45 diagnoses, including 13 recoveries and the death of a 76-year-old man from Point.

According to NET Health, Gregg County has 80 positive antigen tests, Wood County has 16, Anderson County has 25, Van Zandt County has 29, Henderson County has 38 and Rains County has nine.

In Cherokee County, there are 796 cases, including 561 recoveries and two deaths, according to the Cherokee County Public Health Department. The deaths are a Rusk resident and a Wells resident.

Smith County statistics

The Smith County joint information center typically updates recovery numbers on Tuesdays and Fridays. The center is made up of agencies, including the city of Tyler, Smith County, NET Health and Tyler ISD.

NET Health provides updates on remaining weekdays.

The 17 COVID-19 deaths in Smith County are an 84-year-old Arp man, 67-year old Tyler man, 84-year old Whitehouse resident, 63-year-old Kilgore man, a 66-year-old Tyler man, 88-year-old Whitehouse woman, 74-year-old Tyler man, 66-year-old Lindale woman, 68-year-old Lindale woman, 77-year-old Tyler man, 91-year-old Hideaway man, 56 year-old Troup man, a 78-year-old Tyler man, a 68-year-old Tyler man, 87-year-old Tyler woman, 95-year-old Tyler man and 74-year-old Tyler man.

Of the 2,369 cases, 1,847 are in Tyler, 99 in Flint, 109 in Whitehouse, 158 in Lindale, 40 in Troup, 38 in Bullard, three in Overton, 19 in Arp, 19 in Winona, five in Kilgore, 24 in Hideaway, two in Gladewater and six in Mineola.

Here is the age breakdown:

0-20, 455 cases

21-40, 857 cases

41-59, 596 cases

60-79, 380 cases

80 and over, 81 cases

Regarding gender, 1,118 are men and 1,251 are women.

Smith County Jail

The Smith County COVID-19 death count does not include the death of Raul Rodriguez, 61, a Smith County Jail inmate who tested positive for the virus and died in mid-May, according to Rodriguez’s family.

At the time of his death, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said the Texas Rangers would conduct an investigation, which is standard protocol for an inmate death. The Smith County Jail reported one COVID-related death to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards that day.

According to the TCJS, one inmate and 16 detention officers from the Smith County Jail have an active case of COVID-19 as of Sunday.

Inmates are not included in regular Smith County COVID-19 counts, but jailers are if they live in the county. TCJS numbers do not include inmates or officers who may have recovered.