Texas Medical Center coronavirus update: New COVID-19 cases continue steady decline as wastewater viral count spikes

The city of Houston’s average wastewater viral load rose to 583% of the baseline as of Sept. 6—or 5.83 times higher than the COVID-19 viral count of July 2020—a 48.88% increase over the previous week’s baseline, according to the Texas Medical Center.

Most tracking metrics metrics show a steady decline in the spread of the coronavirus. In the week of Aug. 30-Sept. 6, Texas Medical Center facilities admitted an average 149 COVID-19 patients per day, a slight decrease from the 158 average patients admitted per day in the week of Aug 23-29, according to the TMC’s COVID-19 dashboard.

During the week of Aug. 24-30, there was an average of 72.79 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in Harris County each day. New cases trended downward at a rate of 27.64 fewer cases per day between Aug. 24-Sept. 7, according to Harris County Public Health.

Coronavirus positivity rates also declined between the two weeks from 10.6% to 9.8% across the Greater Houston area, according to the TMC. The positivity rate measures what percentage of COVID-19 tests come back with positive results in the area.

As of Sept. 6, the Texas Department of State Health Services was reporting just over 3.01 million Harris County residents were fully vaccinated, or 68.8% of all eligible residents. More than 3.53 million residents are partially vaccinated.

The Harris County COVID-19 threat level is moderate with officials advising vigilance and care to the unvaccinated.