COVID-19 hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the Houston area over the last month, according to re-published Texas Medical Center data, which paints a clearer picture of the risk associated with newer, increasingly transmissible versions of the virus.
The Texas Medical Center seen from McGovern Lake in Hermann Park on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Houston.COVID-19 hospitalizations have nearly doubled in the Houston area over the last month,which paints a clearer picture of the risk associated with newer, increasingly transmissible versions of the virus.
Among the more urgent revelations: The average number of daily new hospitalizations rose from 121 in early June to 224 last week. That number is nearly half of the record-breaking hospitalization peak in early January, when an average of 515 COVID patients were admitted per day, according to the updated TMC data.
The positivity rate also has seen a dramatic increase in the medical center over the last month, jumping from 8.8 percent in early June to 16.1 percent last week. The citywide rate is worse: 29 percent of Houstonians testing for COVID are coming up positive.a latest subvariant in the omicron lineage, which in a matter of weeks took over as the dominant strain in the U.S. First detected in South Africa, the subvariant made its way to the U.S.