Jan. 6 COVID-19 Update: 3 Fatalities, 30 New Cases, 1 Recovery
Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas Health and Human Services’ Jan. 6 COVID-19 reports showed three additional COVID-19 fatalities, continued high COVID-19 hospitalizations in area hospitals, only 1 recovery in the last three days, with 25 vaccination administered Jan. 3-11:59 p.m. Jan. 5 for Hopkins County.
Jan. 6 COVID-19 Case Counts
Twenty people received positive COVID-19 results from lab-confirmed molecular testing on Jan. 6. That increases the total for the first six days of the 2021 to 75 confirmed cases: one case each on Jan. 1 and Jan. 4, eight cases on Jan. 2, 35 cases on Jan. 3 and nine cases on Jan. 5. The 20 new cases increases the cumulative total to 1,196 confirmed COVID-19 cases among Hopkins County residence since the first case was reported on March 26.
Ten additional probable Hopkins County cases were also reported on Jan. 6, increasing the number probable cases reported so far this month to 53. Cumulatively, since the state began tracking the data, 1,170 probable Hopkins County cases have been recorded. Probable cases are those in which a person has either tested positive through an antigen test or has a combination of symptoms and a known exposure to someone with COVID-19 without a more likely diagnosis.
One additional Hopkins County resident was reported Jan. 6 to have recovered from COVID-19, the first recovery reported in three days. Recoveries have been reported in only two of the first six days of this month: 42 recoveries were also reported on Jan. 3. Cumulatively, 2,096 of the total 2,366 Hopkins County COVID-19 cases (probable and confirmed) have recovered.
The DSHS Jan. 6 COVID-19 Texas Case Counts Dashboard shows 73 Hopkins County COVID-19 fatalities, which means three additional Hopkins County residents have died from COVID-19. That means “COVID-19 was listed as a direct cause of death” on their death certificates. “A medical certifier, usually a doctor, determines cause(s) of death. DSHS does not include deaths of people who had COVID-19 but died of an unrelated cause. Fatalities are reported by where the person lived as listed on the death certificate,” according to DSHS.
The deaths were reported in the Dec. 6 COVID-19 Fatalities Over Time By County report to have occurred on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29 of 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021. That makes 14 Hopkins County residents confirmed to have died in December, a month in which 290 confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported, and 193 probable cases were reported from Dec. 11-31.
Cumulatively, 1,122 Hopkins County residents tested positive on molecular COVID-19 tests and 1,117 probable COVID-19 cases were also assigned to Hopkins County in 2020; 2,053 of the 2,239 cumulative COVID-19 cases reported from March 26-Dec. 31 of last year recovered, with 72 deaths confirmed in 2020, although the fatality count could rise as additional death certificates are filed with the state.
That leaves 197 active COVID-19 cases in Hopkins County on Jan. 6, according to the DSHS Case Counts Dashboard.
Also, 310 people are reported to have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 5, including 204 women and 104 men. That’s 16 more people receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination in Hopkins County on Jan. 5 than the day before and 25 vaccination administered from 12 a.m. Jan. 3-11:59 p.m. Jan. 5 for Hopkins County, according to the COVID-19 DSHS Vaccine Data dashboard.
Testing Data
Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management officials reported a total of 7,458 COVID-19 tests have been performed at the Red Cross building since its designation on Sept. 25 as a free testing site. That means another 85 people were tested at 128-A Jefferson St. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. That’s 490 tests conducted over the last seven days at the testing center.
Cumulatively, DSHS on Jan. 6 reports 15,005 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Hopkins County since March, including 12,164 viral (molecular) tests, 1,248 antigen tests and 1,593 antibody tests. That means 26 antigen tests, 4 antibody tests and 106 viral tests were conducted in Hopkins County on Tuesday; and 626 viral tests, 85 antigen tests and 11antibody tests so far this month.
Free oral swab(molecular) COVID-19 testing will continue to be offered free from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays in January inside the Red Cross (old Fidelity Express Building) in Sulphur Springs. Free testing is open to anyone regardless of age or address. Registration is required online at www.GoGetTested.com in order to be tested at 128-A Jefferson Street in Sulphur Springs.
Hospital Data
As the COVID-19 hospitalizations have continued to increase across the state so too has the patient count in the CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital-Sulphur Springs COVID Unit. In fact, the Jan. 6 COVID-19 patient count at CMFH-SS was 31, the highest patient count thus far for the hospital since the pandemic began. Although, the hospital is equipped to house as many as 35 COVID-19 patients, Hopkins County/Sulphur Springs Emergency Management and CMFH-SS representatives have reported.
DSHS’ Jan. 6 COVID-19 Test and Hospital Data dashboard shows Tuesday as the 11th consecutive day in COVID-19 hospitalizations accounted for 15 percent or more of the overall hospital capacity in Trauma Service Area F, which includes Sulphur Springs and most of Northeast Texas; it’s also the seventh consecutive day in which COVID-19 hospitalizations exceeded the 15 percent threshold set by the governor in GA-32. That means for the past four days Hopkins, Bowie, Cass, Lamar and Titus counties within TSA F have been required to reduce capacity at many businesses from 75 to 50 percent until TSA F has seven straight days in which the COVID-19 percent is less than 15 percent of capacity.
Only Delta, Morris and Red River Counties in Northeast Texas have qualified and submitted an attestation to the state certifying that their county has had fewer than 30 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days. All three had filed the proper paperwork for their businesses to continue to remain open at 75 percent capacity.
On Jan. 5, the 206 COVID-19 patients in Trauma Service Area F hospitals collectively accounted for 18.93 percent of the total hospital capacity, a 1.28 decrease from Jan. 4. In fact, the lowest percentage and least number of COVID-19 patients reported since TSA F officially was considered to have a “high hospitalization” percentage on Jan. 2 were reported on Jan. 5.
Only four ICU beds were reported to be available in all of TSA F, that’s one more available on Jan. 5 than on Jan. 4 and three more than on Jan. 2 and 3.
