Galveston County removes many of Sept. 8 reported deaths; total now 139

Galveston County has reported an additional 65 new cases of the coronavirus since Sept. 15, bringing the total to 11,402 as of Sept. 17.

About 1,800 of the cases—15.8%—are active, and 88 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to Galveston County Health District data. One new death from the coronavirus was reported Sept. 16.

The health district removed a majority of the deaths reported Sept. 8, including the death of a resident 0-10 years of age, and the revised death total is now 139. Some of those deaths occurred in probable cases, and after the data was verified with the Texas Department of State Health Services, it was determined the probable cases were not Galveston County residents and therefore should not be included, according to a GCHD Facebook post.

Positive cases are being reported at significantly slower rates than they were over the summer. An additional 789 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported since the start of September; two months ago, the county saw nearly 300 new cases reported between July 16 and 17 alone.

Galveston and League City have more than 2,200 total COVID-19 cases as of Sept. 17. The case count in Texas City is 1,822, and Friendswood has a total of 732 confirmed cases.

The county also began displaying antibody test results on the database in mid-June. About 4,600 people have received the testing thus far, with all but 379 of those people testing negative.

Outbreaks at six nursing homes in Friendswood, League City and Texas City have infected a collective 257 people, per health department data; no new nursing home infections have been reported since Aug. 13. Residents at nursing homes and long-term care facilities will be able to receive visitors as early as Sept. 24, according to new guidelines announced by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sept. 17.