AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas reported 97 more deaths Thursday from the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but state health officials say disruptions caused by this week’s winter weather are delaying many reports.
“Winter weather is affecting the reporting of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities across many jurisdictions. New case counts will be artificially low until reporting resumes,” said a statement on the Texas Department of State Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.
The confirmed and probable coronavirus cases reported to the state rose by 3,012 to 2,574,194, of which an estimated 235,855 are active. Of those, 7,874 required hospitalization as of Wednesday, the state’s most recent total made available. That was up from 7,609 the day before, the first increase in a month.
Texas’ COVID-19 deaths are at more than 41,500, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Texas has fallen by 13,611, a decrease of 67.9%, according to figures from Johns Hopkins.
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