Huge spike in Harris County coronavirus cases Tuesday

Medical personnel at a COVID-19 testing site, interview first responders and medical staff who have symptoms and have been pre-authorized to test Saturday in Baytown. Harris County Public Health and Houston Health Department and are not identifying the locations of the sites to prevent people from showing up and being turned away. less Medical personnel at a COVID-19 testing site, interview first responders and medical staff who have symptoms and have been pre-authorized to test Saturday in Baytown. Harris County Public Health and Houston ... more Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Huge spike in Harris County coronavirus cases Tuesday 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

More than 50 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Harris County Tuesday, the biggest single-day spike since the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus arrived here early this month.

The new cases — 31 in Houston and 25 in the rest of the county — reflect both the increased testing finally being conducted in the area and greater community spread of the virus, said Dr. Umair Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health. He said it is hard to tell how much is attributable to each.

“The concern is that this could be the new normal, at least for a time,” Shah said. “Is there going to be a rapid rise, a steady rise, ebbs and flows? We just don’t know where we are in the curve right now.”

Shah added that the concern the trend could continue -- the steam the virus appears to be picking up and the need to slow it down -- is the reason Harris County officials Tuesday issued a sweeping stay-at-home order. Shah said that without such an order a continued surge of such patients could overwhelm the health care system.

The order, which took effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and will expire April 3, closes most businesses and directs residents to stay put, except for groceries and errands.

Also on Tuesday, Commissioners Court voted to extend Harris County’s disaster declaration, one of several actions aimed at bolstering its response to the coronavirus. The declaration, which allows departments to more quickly purchase needed supplies and services, will remain in effect until April 29.

It is unclear how many of the new cases required hospitalization. Six of the Harris County residents whose tests came back positive Tuesday are in the hospital, but Houston did not yet have such a breakdown. Such breakdowns are important because they show the severity of the illness.

There has been one death in Harris County attributed to the virus so far.

The 56 new cases bring the Harris County total to 134, more than eight times the amount a week ago. Much of that is because there was very little testing being done then, almost all by a city of Houston health department laboratory adhering to strict federal guidelines. Since then, the restrictions have loosened some, and the testing options have increased greatly, from drive-thru testing sites to private labs.

Shah emphasized that the new cases are not a reflection of community transmission today but a week to two weeks ago. That was not long after the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was canceled following confirmation of the area’s first non-traveled-related case, a Montgomery County man who’d attended a rodeo cook-off event.

Most of the new cases were spread locally, not imported here by people who’d traveled, Shah noted.

Cases in surrounding counties also continued to rise Tuesday, though none as dramatically as Harris County. There were 10 in Brazoria County, four in both of Montgomery and Fort Bend counties and three in Galveston County. There are now 254 cases in the greater Houston area and 1,048 in the state.

“It’s very difficult to make policy decisions,” Shah said. “Everybody wants to be able to move on with their life, to not be disrupted. But we don’t want to see exponential rises in cases, which is what today’s spike in cases suggest might be in store for us if we don’t take strong action.”

Julian Gill contributed to this report.

todd.ackerman@chron.com

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