The seven-day average for daily new cases hit 579 on April 28, which is up from 468 one week ago on April 21 and the highest the seven-day average has been since April 6, when it hit 583, according to data from the Harris County Public Health Department. Meanwhile, the 14-day average for testing positivity took an upward swing in late April after stalling for nearly a month. The positivity rate, which tracks what percentage of people who are tested for COVID-19 test positive, hovered in the 8% range between March 11 and April 12 before beginning to rise again. As of the most recent data from April 20, the 14-day average was at 10.6%, according to public health data.
County officials have set a target of under 5% as a benchmark to demonstrate community control of the virus. Although more cases are being confirmed and more tests are coming back positivity, the number of people with COVID-19 in Harris County hospitals declined over the past week, according to data being tracked by the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. The number of COVID-19 patients in general wards fell from 643 on April 21 to 573 on April 28, while the patient count in intensive care units fell from 252 to 209 over that same time.
As of April 28, the percentage of Harris County ICU patients with COVID-19 was at 13.9%, according to SETRAC, below the county's target of 15%. The number of active COVID-19 cases in Harris County stood at 10,163 as of April 28, up from 9,950 on April 21. Of the 391,338 total cases to be confirmed in Harris County, 377,011 have recovered and 4,145 have died. A total of 145 deaths have been confirmed over the past week.
About 1.14 million Harris County residents have been fully vaccinated as of April 28, according to state data.
