County: COVID numbers keep climbing

Henderson County's COVID-19 numbers continued to set records through the past week. County Judge Wade McKinney and I discussed the current COVID-19 statistics, tried to put them into perspective, and explained why the hospitalization percentage is so important on this week's County Government Podcast. Listen to it above. As of Wednesday, there were 362 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Trauma Service Area (TSA) which includes Henderson County. That represents 13.05 percent of the available beds in the TSA. Texas separates the state into 22 regions for hospital data. Henderson County's region is designated TSA-G, includes Tyler/Longview, and includes about 960,000 people. Both the number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital and the percentage of beds occupied are the highest they've been during the pandemic, and Tuesday saw the highest single-day increase in hospitalizations. The percentage is important because the Governor has tied the expanded business opening to that number. If a TSA's COVID-19 hospitalizations are at 15 percent or higher for seven consecutive days, any business that otherwise would have a 75 percent occupancy or operating limit will have to reduce to 50 percent. Wednesday evening, NET Health updated the 7-day rolling average for the area, with Henderson County jumping from 29 cases per day per 100,000 to nearly 40 cases per day. Henderson County has now moved into the "Substantial Community Spread" category. === Our Sponsors This site is free thanks to: Athens Screen Printing HP Overhead Door Company Speedy Tech Repair Tinsley Law & Title Gibson Pharmacy Avco Roofing Doughballs Pizza Company Athens Super 8 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athensnotebook.substack.com