Montgomery County surpassed 6,000 active COVID-19 cases for the first time during the week of Dec. 15-21, as active case totals in the county continued a nearly month-long surge. A total of 6,429 active COVID-19 cases were reported in Montgomery County Dec. 21, a 21.28% weekly increase over the 5,301 active cases reported Dec. 14, according to information from the county public health and hospital districts.

Monday marked the second straight day the county reported 6,000-plus active cases, the 17th consecutive day the county reported a new active case record and the 19th consecutive day the county reported an active case increase. County case reports are typically released on weekdays only, excluding some holidays.

Three new county resident deaths related to COVID-19, including a Conroe man in his 80s, a Porter man in his 40s and a Spring man in his 50s, were also recorded Dec. 15-21. A total of 186 resident deaths related to the disease have been reported in the county this year. Overall, the county added more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases Dec. 15-21, for a 9.71% weekly increase. As of Dec. 21, 23,267 cases have been identified in Montgomery County this year, of which 13,046—just over 56%—have recovered. The number of inactive cases, or those the county has been unable to contact within 30 days after they were first reported, now sits at 3,606.

The number of general and ICU beds in use at Montgomery County hospitals held relatively steady over the past week, according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council. From Dec. 15-21, between 872 and 1,015 general beds were in use daily throughout the county including between 121 and 145 for confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients. Across county ICUs, between 151 and 165 beds were in use daily Dec. 15-21 including between 30 and 37 for COVID-19 patients.