MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District released data on the latest surge of COVID-19 cases in the county at a recent news conference where the city’s mayor and local health leaders spoke about the spike in cases.
The percentages appear staggering. Here’s a look at the numbers behind the recent figures.
Per the department, the county saw a 233% increase in the daily average of virus cases and a 280% increase in the number of people being admitted to the hospital with a COVID-19 positive test. The number of fatalities reported in July were 125% higher than those reported in June.
According to numbers provided by the health department, the county reported an average of 33 new COVID-19 cases on July 21, which grew dramatically to nearly 111 cases reported on average just two weeks later on Aug. 3, marking the 235% increase.
On July 21, the average number of people of admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 was nearly 18 and grew to an average of 76.5 by Aug. 4 – a 283% jump.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths, which grew by 125% from June to July was caused by four deaths being reported in June versus nine in July.
The health department noted the slight increase in the percentages reported on Aug. 4 compared to Aug. 6 was due to the department completing the virus case count for Aug. 4 after the press conference, where the initial data was first released.
The health department also reported Aug. 4 that since April 2021, when all adults were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, 34% of deaths were among people ages 30 to 64. The number of deaths among the same age group was 19% in the past year.
Of the 18 COVID-19 deaths reported since April 2021, six were in the 30-64 age group, making them 34% of the deaths. The department reported that of the 475 deaths since the start of the pandemic, 91 were in that age group, which is where the 19% comes from.
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Health officials also said at the news conference that 104 people were currently hospitalized and that the number of hospitalizations among people younger that 20 had increased by 300%. The department specified that 4% of those admitted to hospitals since April 2021 are below 20, compared to 1% since the start of the pandemic.
A total of 479 county residents have died due to COVID-19 and more than 860 cases were active as of Aug. 6.
The department also said the increase in cases is linked to the delta variant as the county has seen 23 cases.
To combat the newly increasing spread of the virus, the department is holding free vaccination clinics throughout the coming week in various cities throughout the county. The clinics will be held Aug. 9-14. The Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will all be available.
Watch the Aug. 4 news conference here: