The Houston Chronicle Live Updates blog documents the latest events in the coronavirus outbreak in the Houston area, the state of Texas and in the United States with a focus on health and economic impacts.
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Total number of coronavirus cases:
• 386,196 cases in Texas, including 4,957 deaths.
• 91,465 in the Houston region, including 892 deaths.
• More than 4.2 million in the US, including 146,927 deaths. Click here for a map of the US with state-by-state death tolls and the latest coronavirus case counts.
• More than 16.1 million worldwide, with more than 647,846 deaths. More than 8.9 million people have recovered. You can see the world totals here.
Resources on COVID-19 and the reopening of Texas: Use our interactive page to track the spread of cases throughout Harris County and the rest of Texas. For a detailed overview of our state, see the Chronicle’s Texas Coronavirus Map. For regular updates on our coverage, subscribe to our coronavirus newsletter.
Latest updates today:
8 pm The number of new COVID-19 cases in Texas fell for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday to 4,811, according to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle of state data.
The last time the number of new cases was so low was July 5, and that was a bank holiday weekend with fewer county reports. The state’s seven-day moving average for new cases also continued to decline, reaching a seven-day low of 8,060.
There are now 391,007 cases statewide. Another 102 new deaths total 5,059. There have been 1,068 new deaths in the past seven days.
The Houston region’s case count is 92,867, an increase of 1,402 from Saturday. Harris County added 1,236 new cases today and now has a total of 65,349 cases. There have been 921 deaths in the Houston region, 29 more than yesterday.
The statewide positive test rate increased from 13.44 percent to 13.76 percent.
For the fourth consecutive day, the Texas Department of State Health Services reports incomplete hospitalization numbers due to a transition in reporting to meet new federal requirements. By July 26, 85 percent of hospitals reported full data to DSHS, resulting in a partial dataset and the appearance of a drop in hospitalizations.
With that warning, the agency reported 10,075 hospitalized patients for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in Texas. There are a total of 54,974 staffed hospital beds and 11,443 beds available, including 1,243 ICU beds. There are 5,544 fans available.
7 pm A deputy from precinct 5 of the Harris County agent’s office died of COVID-19 after a two-month battle with the virus, authorities said Sunday.
Deputy Mark Brown’s wife, 53, said she died around 11 p.m. Saturday at her home after spending about two months in intensive care in a hospital. He was allowed to return home on Friday, she said.
“The kindest, gentlest, and most generous man I had the privilege of calling my husband was called home to be with our Heavenly Father,” said MP’s wife, Michelle Brown, in a GoFundMe post. “Mark Brown, I am so honored and fortunate to have spent 24 years at your side.”
– Nicole Hensley
6:50 pm So how bad is COVID-19 in Houston? The Chronicle’s Zach Despart and Mike Morris help readers discover for themselves by explaining key datasets on hospital capacity and new cases in the Houston region. Read more.
