These Texas counties had highest number of new COVID-19 cases in 3 weeks, data shows

As we go into the seventh month since the coronavirus pandemic began, changing lives and routines of many, we're taking a look at the number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Texas.

As of Sept. 29, the U.S. reported 7,129,313 COVID-19 cases, according to the CDC's website. Out of those cases, 739,222 were confirmed in the Lone Star state, with 15,533 deaths.

According to data obtained by ABC News, the number of cases in Texas puts it in the red zone - which indicates 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population last week (primarily from the Harris County data issue), with the ninth highest rate in the country.

These are the recent findings and recommendations for Texas in the data:

Going further in-depth, Texas has seen an increase in new cases but a decrease in the number of positive tests over the last week. The new cases were reported to have been part of the results from the backlog that distorted metrics used to gauge the toll of the pandemic.

SEE ALSO: 5 health experts on the state's coronavirus data backlog

Harris, Tarrant, and Bexar were the top three counties that had the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in the last three weeks. In total, the three counties represent 44.7% of new cases in the state.

Data showed that between Sep. 19 - Sep. 25, on average, 373 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 440 patients with suspected COVID-19 were reported as newly admitted each day to hospitals in Texas.

In Harris County, Tuesday's data on the Harris County Health's website showed 69,149 confirmed cases with 733 deaths. In the city of Houston, 73,166 cases were confirmed with 1,107 deaths.

As more Texas business owners increase the capacity inside their establishments and more students head back to school, data from last week showed the number of people getting tested for COVID-19 had dropped significantly in the Houston area.

During the summer, some Houston and Harris County testing sites would reach capacity quickly, taking days or weeks to get results. Now, thousands of tests are going unused each day, but people are getting results quicker.

SEE ALSO: Fewer people taking COVID-19 tests, Harris Co. Judge says

Last week, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said despite declining cases, positivity rates, and hospitalizations, she's not comfortable lowering the meter, but the county is getting closer.

"We designed the system so that we would come out of red better than we went into it," Hidalgo said.

Despite having more than 73,000 coronavirus cases in the City of Houston, the positivity rate is continuing to go down. As of Tuesday morning, the rate was at 5.6%

At the beginning of the month, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner challenged Houstonians to decrease the positivity rate in the city. To view the latest positivity rate in the city, visit the Texas Medical Center's website.

Read the latest data release on COVID-19 cases in other states