HOUSTON — Texas set a record for new COVID-19 cases reported in a single day on Tuesday with 10,028 cases statewide. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services said there is "likely some catch-up" from some counties not reporting over the holiday weekend.
In Houston, the health department reported 1,060 new cases, the first time the city has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day. Other days that more than 1,000 cases were reported included multiple days of data, according to Houston Health Department.
In Harris County, 475 additional cases make Tuesday the third-highest reporting day for the county since COVID-19 came to the United States.
The daily cases go up and down from one day to the next, so it is important to look at the average of new cases over the course of two weeks to get a better idea of the trend.
Numbers from our 20-county region’s public health departments show that average new cases are up substantially compared to three weeks ago.
That means more and more people are testing positive than in weeks past. While part of that can be attributed to testing more people, Houston Health Authority Dr. David Persse said Friday that the virus is spreading faster than we can test people and that the "positivity rate" is a better reflection of how the virus spreads.
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More people are going to the hospital with COVID-19, too, in our area, and statewide.
On Tuesday, Texas reported the most hospitalizations for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. There are 9,286 people in hospitals all over the state battling coronavirus.
That figure also fluctuates every day as people recover or pass away, but Tuesday's number is the highest number reported yet.
Public health leaders say to turn these trends around, we need to be extremely diligent by not only wearing a mask around others in public but also staying at least six feet away from people outside your household.