Harris County coronavirus count: 14,000-case backlog added to total, mostly recoveries

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Harris County increased by more than 14,000 on Sept. 21 as the Texas Department of State Health Services worked through a backlog of test results, but data shows most new cases added were recoveries.

A total of 14,129 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Sept. 21, causing the total number of cases in Harris County to increase from 123,817 to 137,946. In a Tweet, public health officials said only 341 of the cases were within 14 days of the onset of symptoms.

Out of the newly added cases since yesterday (in Harris County, not including city of Houston ), 341 are recent cases (within 14 days of symptom onset/collection date).

— Harris County Public Health #SocialDistance (@hcphtx) September 22, 2020

The number of active cases increased by 1,050 on Sept. 21 while the number of recoveries increased by 13,065. The number of deaths increased by 14.

Testing positivity rates continue to slowly drop in Harris County, hitting 7.3% as of the most recent data available for Sept. 14, down from 7.8% one week prior. Officials are aiming to have testing positivity below 5%.

In the Texas Medical Center, officials have already hit that mark and have sustained a positivity rate below 5% for 15 straight days as of Sept. 21.

The number of patients with COVID-19 have dropped in Harris County hospitals over the past week. The number of patients in intensive care units fell slightly from 190 on Sept. 15 to 170 on Sept. 22, while the number of patients in general wards is down from 460 on Sept. 15 to 409 on Sept. 22, according to the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.