According to the COVID-19 data dashboard from Fort Bend County Health & Human Services, over the last week on days in which new cases were recorded—Dec. 26-29 and Jan. 2—there were 5,292 new coronavirus cases in Fort Bend County. Compared to the previous coronavirus case count update from Community Impact Newspaper, which covered a full seven-day period from Dec. 7-15 that saw 966 new cases, the county has seen a nearly 448% surge in cases week over week.
Feeding this is the highest single-day case increase in Fort Bend County since the pandemic began. On Dec. 27, the county reported 2,987 new cases. For comparison, the next highest single-day increase came on Sept. 7, when the county reported 1,499 new cases.
Only positive results using molecular tests count toward the county’s total COVID-19 cases. An additional 16,091 Fort Bend County residents have tested positive using antigen tests and 4,926 with antibody tests, according to the county’s data.
The county estimated that 87,544 people have recovered from the coronavirus as of Jan. 4. Estimated deaths, meanwhile, sit at 1,061.
Hospitalizations
Out of the approximately 957 operational general beds available in Fort Bend County, 351 of those were in use as of Jan. 3, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council, which tracks hospitalization data for Fort Bend County. Out of those beds in use, 150 of those are suspected or confirmed of being used by COVID-19 patients, according to the SETRAC data.
Meanwhile, intensive care unit usage hovers around 116 beds. As of Jan. 3, 16 suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients were utilizing those beds. For comparison, SETRAC reported highs of 48 coronavirus patients in the ICU on Aug. 26 and 53 coronavirus patients on Jan. 19, 2021. In each of those cases, ICU bed usage hovered around that same number.
Vaccinations
There had been 1.12 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Fort Bend County by all providers as of Jan. 3, according to Fort Bend County’s data dashboard.
Of that number, 474,541 residents are fully vaccinated; 133,127 residents have received an additional or booster dose; and 64,375 residents are partially vaccinated, having received a single dose of a two-series vaccine.
Approximately 81% of Fort Bend County residents age 12 and older have received at least one dose and 93% of those age 65 and older.
