A change in the tracking system used to report coronavirus data has led in part to the county reporting higher-than-normal numbers of coronavirus cases over the past week, according to Fort Bend County Health & Human Services.

From Aug. 3-6, the county reported 1,687 confirmed coronavirus cases. Of those, the county said, 569 are older cases recently identified through the new system, according to FBCHHS Facebook posts. On Aug. 3, the county reported a data dump from a local hospital and lab, which resulted in a large number of new cases.

Here is a breakdown of the number of cases reported each day this week as well as whether these cases are new or from the backlog, as reported by the county.
  • Aug. 3: 515 total cases (influx of data from local hospital and lab)
  • Aug. 4: 161 total cases (all new cases)
  • Aug. 5: 692 total cases (329 new, 363 backlog)
  • Aug. 6: 319 total cases (113 new, 206 backlog)
Even taking the backlog into account, the numbers of newly confirmed cases reported in Fort Bend County this week reflect the highest single-day increases since the pandemic began. The previous high was the 318 cases recorded July 17.

To date, 8,878 cases of the coronavirus have been identified in Fort Bend County. Of those, 3,973 have recovered and 105 have died.


During the period from Aug. 3-6, the number of people being treated in Fort Bend County hospitals for the virus has ranged from 173 at the beginning of the week to 123 on Thursday, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.


Furthermore, the number of patients in Fort Bend County intensive care units has hovered between 39 and 46, SETRAC data shows.

Coronavirus in Sugar Land and Missouri City



In Fort Bend County as a whole, there are now 10.94 confirmed coronavirus cases for every 1,000 residents. The increase in known coronavirus cases countywide, has also affected the number of cases at the city and ZIP code level.

Missouri City now has more than 1,038 coronavirus cases between the Fort Bend County and Harris County portions of the city.

There are 948 cases within Sugar Land city limits, and the city saw 186 cases reported Aug. 3-6.


At the ZIP code level, Sugar Land ZIP code 77479 had the greatest increase in coronavirus cases, with 160 confirmed Aug. 3-6.

Still, the two Missouri City ZIP codes—77489 and 77459—have the most cases per 1,000 residents, at 15.73 and 12.14, respectively.


Fort Bend County updates its coronavirus dashboard each day Monday-Saturday at 4 p.m. Data in this story reflects that reported as of 12:30 p.m. Aug. 7.