A previous estimate from the University of Texas had predicted the peak would between April 6-15. This later peak date is good news, Minter said.
“Why that’s good news is the later the peak occurs, the lower it can occur,” she said. “That means we’ll have more time for the hospitals to treat those ill patients because there will be less ill patients. To me, that’s an indication that our social distancing measures are having a positive effect.”
In a press release, Judge KP George urged residents to continue to follow the county's stay-at-home order.
“I am proud to announce that the people of Fort Bend County are joining together to effectively flatten the curve to fight this invisible enemy,” George said. “Our community must continue to be diligent about following the ‘Stay Home to Save Lives’ Order on social distancing and best sanitary practices.”
The release also stated that Fort Bend County hospitals are not experiencing a surge capacity at this time.
Additionally, Minter said the county’s COVID-19 dashboard reports the number of people who have recovered. She clarified that this metric is the number of tests that have changed to negative after patients previously tested positive and HHS has officially cleared them.
“We are continuing to clear people as the numbers go up,” she said. “We clear people every single day and those numbers will improve as well. And that mirrors of some of the numbers that you're seeing on the state websites and regional websites and even the national and international [websites.] The cleared numbers, or recovered numbers, does lag behind."
The latest data from the county—as of 5 p.m. April 6—reports 318 positive confirmed cases. A total of 416 tests have been administered at the county's testing site. There have been six deaths, and 15 people have recovered. Of the total number of cases, 250 of the confirmed cases are at home, while 50 are hospitalized.
