COVID-19 hospitalizations at Texas Medical Center up 56% over past week

A total of 1,412 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized at Texas Medical Center facilities over the past week, a 56% increase from the previous week, according to TMC affiliates in the nine-county Houston area. 

Since the pandemic began, 74,661 COVID-19-positive patients have been hospitalized at the center’s facilities, with a total of 66,748 patients discharged and COVID-19 deaths numbering 6,501. 

During the past week, the number of people who became infected in the Houston area from a single infected person was estimated at 1.54. An average of greater than one indicates an increasing spread of COVID-19, while a number below one indicates the spread of the virus is slowing, according to the medical center.

The average for daily new COVID-19 cases over the past week was 2,296, compared to 1,069 during the previous week, the medical center reported. And the average new daily COVID-19 hospitalizations for the past week stood at 246.