Number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Galveston County up nearly 300% since late October

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas -- Galveston County has seen 769 new COVID-19 cases and three additional coronavirus-related deaths since Nov. 16, according to Galveston County Health District data observed before Thanksgiving.

A total of 14,465 county residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since mid-March. Of the total cases, 89% are considered to have recovered, per GCHD data.

The new case count total reflects an average of about 85 new cases per day over the last nine days. The average number of new cases a day has nearly quadrupled in the last five weeks.

A total of 158 county residents have died from COVID-19, which represents a case fatality rate of 1.1%, down from the consistent 1.2% the county had been reporting all fall.

Galveston and Texas City have seen 2,595 and 2,340 cases, respectively, and Friendswood has seen a total of 1,014 cases, according to GCHD data. More than a quarter of the total cases - 4,000, or 28% - have been in League City, and three in every 10 of the 1,427 currently active cases are in League City.

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More than 2,800 total cases have been reported among residents ages 21-30, the highest of any age group, and 201 of those cases are considered active as of Nov. 25. Just more than 250 of the active cases countywide are among residents ages 31-40, the highest of any age group.

However, no county residents under age 31 have died from COVID-19. More than 5,000 total residents ages 0-30 have recovered from the coronavirus, per GCHD data.

There are currently 66 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, mainly concentrated in Texas City and League City. While a resident age 0-10 and a resident age 21-30 are hospitalized as of Nov. 25, residents age 61 and older make up more than 70% of the total number of current hospitalizations. A total of 409 county residents have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 since mid-March.

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Coronavirus trends at two Bay Area school districts have been similar to those seen at a county level. There are a total of 18 active cases in Friendswood ISD as of Nov. 20, when the district last updated its dashboard. The number of active cases at FISD has more than doubled in the last two weeks.

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Clear Creek ISD reported 89 active cases Nov. 25, the highest number to date during the 2020-21 school year. A total of 263 cases have been reported in the district since the start of the school year, according to CCISD's COVID-19 dashboard.

Despite rumors circulating that CCISD would follow the example of many colleges and universities and move to all virtual learning post-Thanksgiving, Superintendent Greg Smith told the community during a Nov. 16 board meeting that this is not true. Schools will remain open for in-person classes after the Thanksgiving holiday, he said.

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This content was provided by our partners at Community Impact Newspaper.