The coronavirus testing positivity rate in Harris County continued to decline over the first half of March after a brief uptick at the end of February, according to data from the Harris County Public Health Department.

As of the most recent available data from March 11, the 14-day average for testing positivity hit 10.5%, down from 12.7% at the start of the month and the lowest the 14-day average has been since early December. The 14-day average got as low as 5.4% in October before embarking on an upward trajectory through early January, according to county data. Meanwhile, the number of patients with COVID-19 in Harris County hospitals has continued to fall as well. As of March 18, a total of 851 patients in the county's general wards had COVID-19, while another 306 patients in intensive care units had the virus, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. Those numbers are down from 873 and 345, respectively, one week ago on March 11.

ICU beds in hospitals across the Texas Medical Center were still fully occupied as of March 17, but only 20% of those patients tested positive for COVID-19. Including surge capacity, about 62% of ICU beds were occupied, according to the TMC. Daily new cases have dropped slightly over the past week in Harris County, with the seven day average hitting 758 on March 18, according to public health data, down from 898 on March 11. Another 614 cases were confirmed in the county on March 18, along with 13 deaths caused by the virus.

Total cases in the county now stand at 368,028, including 13,861 active cases, 350,643 recovered cases and 3,506 deaths.