Harris County coronavirus count: Hospitalizations up 40% week over week

A total of 1,744 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Harris County over the Nov. 14-15 weekend, including 1,015 new cases in the city of Houston and 729 in Harris County outside of the city.

The total number of COVID-19 patients in Harris County hospitals is up by about 40% week over week, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. A total of 779 COVID-19 patients were recorded as of Nov. 15, compared to 556 patients on Nov. 8.

Intensive care units across the county saw an increase from 181 on patients Nov. 8 to 224 patients on Nov. 15, while patients in general wards increased from 375 to 555 over that same time. ICU beds in the Texas Medical Center were about 92% occupied as of Nov. 12, with about 14% of those patients hospitalized for COVID-19, according to TMC updates.

The 14-day average for testing positivity continues to increase in Harris County, hitting 7.7% as of the most recent data Nov. 8, up from 7.4% one week prior. Older data showing a testing positivity rate over 8% in the county was recently lowered after a backlog of testing results were returned over the past week.

The testing positivity rate being tracked by the Texas Medical Center has also surpassed 5% after spending more than 60 consecutive days below that mark. The rate hit 5.2% as of Nov. 12, according to the TMC.

A total of 15 deaths caused by the coronavirus were confirmed in Harris County over the weekend, and 46 deaths have been confirmed over the past week.

The total number of cases in Harris County now stands at 174,493, with 13,509 active cases, 158,622 recovered cases and 2,351 deaths.