HOUSTON — For the second straight day, Texas avoided passing the 10,000 daily case count mark. The state reported 7,404 new COVID-19 cases Monday. Texas did, however, pass a grim milestone when the state crossed the 4,000 death threshold. There have now been 4,020 total COVID-19 deaths in the Lone Star State.
Statewide, the positivity rate is now 14.67%. It's the lowest the number has been in 11 days.
"(We're reporting) 884 new cases of COVID-19," Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Monday.
The data shows a less than 1% decline in positivity rate. The city still hovering around a 24.5% positivity rate. It's one of the worst in the country.
"The number is very high," said Houston Public Health Authority Dr. David Persse. "It's too early to suggest it's a flattening of the curve."
When you break the numbers down by ZIP code, some Houston-area neighborhoods are seeing a positivity rate of more than 30%.
"There's a lot of virus spreading through the community," Persse said. "Some ZIP codes are hotter than others. All this is preventable."
There is a sliver of good news in hospitalization trends in the Texas Medical Center. Average daily COVID hospitalizations fell ever so slightly and have leveled off. But experts say there's still significant work to do.
"We’re looking at these next few days as really wondering: are we going to see the data come back up?" said Dr. Marc Boom, CEO of Houston Methodist. "Is this a temporary lull? Or is this the beginning of something really good? We’re watching that very closely and hoping and praying it’s the beginning of a nice decline."
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KHOU has just upgraded its technology. If you were unable to receive KHOU with your antenna in the past, try again on channel 11.11. You may have to rescan your channels for it to work – if that’s the case, we’ve got some instructions at KHOU.com/antenna. If you already see KHOU on 11.1, you may now ALSO see it on 11.11 – it’s the exact same programming. We’re really excited to be able to bring our KHOU 11 News, CBS shows and sports, Wheel of Fortune, Ellen and Great Day Houston to more homes around the area. If you’re still having trouble, please contact us here and we’ll try to get you set up.