AUSTIN, Texas – Texas reported 4,732 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Saturday and 154 new deaths from the disease it causes, COVID-19.
The new coronavirus cases reported Friday pushed the overall number of cases for the six-month Texas outbreak to at least 606,530, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. Of those, the state says its estimate of the number of active cases fell by almost 3,500 to 101,189, and the confirmed number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized fell by 67 to 4,422.
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However, the true number of cases is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
The state said its estimate of the number of active cases fell by almost 3,500 to 101,189, and the confirmed number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized fell by 67 to 4,422.
The overall COVID-19 death toll for the Texas outbreak rose to 12,266.
The rolling seven-day average of the rate of positive tests has fallen from 16% a week ago to 12.16% as of Friday, the most recent rate reported by the state. Gov. Greg Abbott has set a 10% positivity rate as a target, and the World Health Organization has set 5% as the threshold for the end of the pandemic.
However, the rolling seven-day average of tests administered was 37,200 as of Friday, down from 40,400 the day before and well below the 63,900 average of Aug. 18.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and be fatal.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.