Harris County coronavirus count: 1,724 new cases, 21 deaths confirmed July 30

A total of 1,724 new cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths caused by the virus were confirmed in Harris County on July 30, according to public health data.

The vast majority of the new cases and deaths were confirmed in the city of Houston: 1,304 cases and 15 deaths. The remaining 420 cases and six deaths were confirmed in Harris County outside of the city.

A total of 198 deaths have been confirmed in the county over the past two weeks, and the death count now stands at 706. Of those 198 deaths, 99 of them, or about half of them, were Hispanic or Latino residents, according to county data.

Of the 70,850 cases in the county, 46,678 are active, 23,465 have recovered and 706 have died.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Harris County intensive care units stayed flat for another day and has now remained between 650 and 690 for a week, according to data being compiled by the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. However, the number of COVID-19 patients in general wards took another set down on July 30, falling to 1,360, which is down from 1,471 on July 29 and 1,650 from one week ago on July 23.

Base capacity at Texas Medical Center ICUs remains completely full, and surge capacity was at about 26%, with 96 of 373 beds occupied.