HOUSTON — As coronavirus cases continue to climb in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a warning to young adults who are making up most of the positive cases in some counties.
“There are certain counties where the majority of the people who are testing positive in that county are under the age of 30," Abbott said. "This typically results from people going to bar-type settings.”
We wanted to Verify if what Abbott said is true for Houston and Harris County. KHOU 11 News took a look at the numbers, and here’s what we found.
As of Wednesday, Harris County Public Health reported more than 17,000 cases.
In March, 18% of people under 30 tested positive for the coronavirus. By June 16, that number had increased to 35%. At the same time, the number of people over the age of 30 who have tested positive is dropping, from 82% in March to 65% in June.
But let’s break it down further.
In March, only 2% of people between the ages of 10 and 19 tested positive. This month, it’s up to 9%. And 15% of people between the ages of 20 and 29 tested positive in March, and 20% in June.
We can Verify what Abbott claims is true for Harris County. So far this month, most people to test positive in Harris County are 20 to 29 years old.
Here’s why it’s a problem: Coronavirus death rates are unfair.
While young people may be contracting the virus more frequently, of the 298 people who have died in Houston and Harris County, 81% of them are over 60. Only two people under 30 have died.
RELATED: County judge orders San Antonio businesses to create safety plan, including requiring face masks
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