Galveston County’s rate of positivity among reported coronavirus tests is nearing 1 in 5 for the first time since early August.
About 870 new cases were reported the week after Sept. 12—a week after the Labor Day holiday weekend. Among the reported tests, 19.2% were positive. This rate is above that of any week in 2020; 19.4% of reported tests were positive the week of Aug. 1.
The day after Labor Day, the county saw its first COVID-19 death of a resident under the age of 11.
The girl died Sept. 7, Galveston County Health District reported around 4 p.m. Sept. 9. While the girl attended school in Galveston County, officials do not believe she contracted COVID-19 at school.
As of Sept. 17, there have been 1,397 breakthrough cases in Galveston County, per the GCHD’s Sept. 17 update. This equates to an approximate 0.73% breakthrough rate, which is lower than what was expected from studies; more than 176,224 county residents are fully vaccinated, per the GCHD.
A total of 52 more coronavirus deaths have been reported by the GCHD since Sept. 1. Of those deaths, seven people were fully vaccinated and four people were partially vaccinated, per GCHD.
There are 117 county residents hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sept. 17, per the dashboard. Five of those hospitalized are under the age of 21, and nine are younger than 31. The fatality rate is at 1%, up from 0.9% at the start of the month, and about 5,500 cases are active. Click here to view the dashboard.
Montgomery, Harris County COVID-19 updates
In Harris County, the Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously Sept. 14 to terminate a nearly $11 million contract with Elevate Strategies, a firm that was scheduled to conduct community outreach encouraging county residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Click here to read more about the decision to terminate the contract.
COVID-19 cases in children under 12 remain high throughout Texas, including in Montgomery County, where 2,455 cases were reported in August—an all-time high. Community Impact Newspaper sat down with Dr. Jim Versalovic, the interim chief pediatrician and pathologist in chief at Texas Children’s Hospital in the Woodlands, to talk about the delta variant and how it affects children. Click here to read the interview.
A shift in federal distribution policy of monoclonal antibody therapeutic drugs has led to a shortage of the drug at regional infusion sites in Texas, including one that opened in Montgomery County in August. Click here to read more about the effects of the policy shift.
Montgomery County confirmed a new all-time high of active COVID-19 cases in its update following Labor Day weekend with 13,756 cases active as of Sept. 8. Click here for more county COVID-19 data breakdowns.
Jishnu Nair and Danica Lloyd contributed to this report.
