Montgomery County passes 10K active, 31K total COVID-19 cases as hospitalizations reach new high

Montgomery County's COVID-19 surge has continued into 2021 with the number of active cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations rising daily, according to data from the Montgomery County Public Health District and Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council.

Continuing a weeks-long trend, the county set a new daily record Jan. 12 with 10,394 active cases reported, according to the health district. The previous daily active case record of 10,232 was set Jan. 11, the first day the county recorded more than 10,000 active cases. As of Jan. 12, nearly a third of all COVID-19 cases confirmed in Montgomery County were active.

Cumulatively, 31,822 COVID-19 cases have been recorded among residents since last March, more than 5% of which have been added to the county's total through the first two days of this week alone. Just over 500 recoveries were reported Jan. 11-12, bringing the total number of confirmed clinical recoveries in the county to 15,651, or 49.18% of all cases.

Five deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported so far in 2021, bringing the county's cumulative fatalities related to the disease to 192 as of Jan. 12. The status of 5,585 cases—17.55% of the cumulative count—remains unknown, and they are now considered inactive, which means that the health district was unable to contact those individuals within 30 days of their case reports.

COVID-19 hospitalizations among county residents also reached a new peak this week, with 79 residents confirmed to be in the hospital due to the disease as of Jan. 12, according to the health district. Total COVID-19 hospitalizations in county facilities—regardless of patients' residence—reached a new record high Jan. 12 as well, with 286 general beds occupied by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, according to SETRAC data. Countywide ICU usage for COVID-19 patients also neared the highest levels recorded through the pandemic Jan. 11, with 69 occupied beds.

Overall hospital capacity in Montgomery County remains below operational limits despite the jump in COVID-19 hospitalizations, with 995 of 1,275 general beds in use as of Jan. 12, according to SETRAC. ICU capacity has tracked more closely to the county's upper operational limit of 174 beds this month, although that limit has yet to be surpassed.