The number of active coronavirus cases in Harris County fell to 45,130 on Feb. 3, down from 47,536 the previous day and 51,563 a little over one week ago, according to daily data reported by the Harris County Public Health Department.

The 14-day average for testing positivity has continued its slow decline, hitting 17.4% as of the most recent data from Jan. 27. That figure is down from 17.9% on Jan. 20 after hitting a recent high of 20% on Jan. 7. County officials have set 5% as a target threshold for sustained testing positivity to demonstrate control of the viral spread. An estimated 1,422 new cases confirmed in the city of Houston Feb. 3 had specimen collection dates within the past 14 days, while 1,258 new cases confirmed in Harris County outside the city of Houston had specimen collection dates within the past 14 days.

The total case count in Harris County now stands at 323,408, including 45,130 active cases, 275,266 recovered cases and 2,994 deaths. The total confirmed deaths caused by COVID-19 have increased by 91 over the past week.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Harris County hospitals has also been slowly on the decline, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. A total of 1,531 COVID-19 patients were in general wards as of Feb. 3, with another 510 patients in intensive care units. Those numbers compare to 1,601 and 546, respectively, on Jan. 27. Base ICU capacity in Texas Medical Center hospitals remained fully occupied as of Feb. 2, with 114 of 373 beds occupied in the first phase of surge capacity.