Montgomery County COVID-19 Update for August 2, 2021

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- Montgomery County Public Health can confirm that due to a sharp rise in COVID19 cases, we will increase our reports to three time weekly - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

If you have yet to be vaccinated – we are strongly encouraging you to do so immediately. Emerging variants are proving to be more contagious and, in some cases, more serious than previous variants. Even if you contract COVID-19 after vaccination, the chances of severe illness, hospitalization and death are extremely low.

Vaccination will help protect our children under 12 years old and other vulnerable people in our population who cannot be vaccinated. In Montgomery County, 2,100 children from 0-11 years of age have tested positive for COVID-19 in 2021. After 5 straight months of decreasing cases, the cases in children under 12 years of age increased by more than 5 times from June to July.

Meanwhile, vaccinations are increasing at the lowest rate since they became available in December of 2020. Only 48 percent of the population of Montgomery County has been vaccinated. Need to find a vaccine? Click here: https://www.vaccines.gov/.

Since our July 28th report, we can confirm two additional deaths related to COVID-19.

·A woman in her 50s, from Conroe, died in the hospital. She had co-morbidities in addition to testing positive for COVID-19. She was not vaccinated.

·A woman in her 70s, from Montgomery, died in the hospital. She had co-morbidities in addition to testing positive for COVID-19. She was not vaccinated.

We can also confirm:

·TOTAL cases of COVID-19 increased by 1,393 to 60,052 since last Wednesday’s (7/28) report.

·ACTIVE cases of COVID-19 increased by 1,017 to 3,452 since last Wednesday’s (7/28) report. Today, we accounted for 124 additional inactive cases who we have been unable to contact for 30 days or more.

·143 county residents are known, as a result of contact investigations, to be in the hospital. Contact investigations have not been initiated on all reported cases.

·30,622 people have clinically recovered.

The Testing Positivity Rate for Montgomery County has increased to 17%, up from 12% last week.
Source: UT Health, School of Public Health

*These numbers include PCR and rapid antigen testing. We do not include antibody testing.
SETRAC data for regional hospitalizations can be found here: https://bit.ly/3jwhdiV.

The COVID-19 dashboard for Montgomery County can be found here: https://coronavirus-response-moco.hub.arcgis.com/.

Do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19. The best way to protect yourself and those around you is to be vaccinated. You should also:

· Avoid groups of people.

·Practice social distancing.

·Wear a mask in public (over your nose and mouth) or with others who live outside your household. Never share a mask with others.

·Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer frequently.

·Disinfect surfaces in your car and around your home.

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