Weekly health report notes 1,692 active COVID-19 cases, 511 new cases

From Staff Reports
·3 min read

The Amarillo Department of Public Health (APHD) has released its first weekly totals for 2023 for influenza and COVID-19, showing an increase in cases of the coronavirus and a decrease in flu or flu-like illnesses for the area.

Flu update

The health department's weekly flu report is created by all the local providers who voluntarily report influenza to APHD in Potter and Randall Counties. Previous weekly flu reports can be found on the health department's website. Data is categorized by week, from Oct. 16 through Jan. 3. The week of Dec. 19 had a total of 1,735 flu and flu-like cases of illness reported.

The weekly flu report for Jan. 3, issued by the Amarillo Department of Public Health.
The weekly flu report for Jan. 3, issued by the Amarillo Department of Public Health.

For the week of Jan. 3, there were 260 cases of influenza A, 18 cases of influenza B and 387 cases of flu-like illness, according to the flu report card.

Two cases were classified as "undifferentiated," and the weekly total was 667.

COVID-19 update

In the department's weekly COVID-19 update, 1,692 cases were considered active, with no new deaths and an increase of 511 new COVID-19 cases.

According to the report card, the 511 new COVID-19 cases amount to a seven-day, new-case average of 73, with a seven-day positivity rate of 13%.

The weekly COVID-19 report for Jan. 5, issued by the Amarillo Department of Public Health.
The weekly COVID-19 report for Jan. 5, issued by the Amarillo Department of Public Health.

That brings the total number of cases in Potter and Randall counties to 87,426 and the total number of deaths to 1,318 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, according to the report card. As posted on the APHD's site, a total 83,259 recoveries have been reported for the area.

Potter County's total cases since the start of the pandemic rose to 41,732, with 772 active, 40,182 recoveries and 778 deaths related to the virus.

Randall County's total COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic rose to 44,537, with 920 active, 43,077 recoveries and 540 deaths related to the virus.

The report card contains the latest data from BSA Health System, Northwest Texas Healthcare System, and Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center.

The Amarillo Public Health COVID-19 Hospitalization report, also being released weekly, noted 21 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, 57% of whom were unvaccinated. Of those, three patients were in the ICU, two of whom were unvaccinated, and none on ventilators.

By the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) standards, Randall and Potter County's community levels of COVID-19 were medium, or yellow this week.

Vaccines, boosters, more info available

According to its website, the APHD has issued a total of 663,693 tests for COVID-19 in Potter and Randall counties.

The Amarillo Department of Public Health is urging more people to get vaccinated as the region continues to see a season of respiratory illnesses. Free vaccines and boosters are available at the Amarillo Public Health Department and Amarillo Public Health mobile clinics. The vaccines and boosters will not be free in the near future, so Amarillo Public Health encourages residents to take advantage of this opportunity now. Those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine or booster more than two months ago are eligible for the new booster, which provides additional protection from the original virus and the Omicron variant.

For additional tips for staying safe this winter and the most up to date COVID-19 information, visit www.AmarilloAlerts.com. Weekly flu reports can be found at www.amarillopublichealth.org .

The city of Amarillo Public Health Department, located at 850 Martin Road, offers the new COVID bivalent booster and COVID-19 vaccines for everyone aged 5 and older. They also offer other adult and children’s vaccines to those that qualify. Learn more at www.AmarilloAlerts.com/findavaccine.

For the complete report of all Amarillo Public Health COVID-19 data, visit amarillo.gov/coviddashboard .

Editor's note: Some of the numbers surrounding COVID-19 cases listed in this story are different on the weekly report card, vs. the APHD website. According to the public health department, readers can check the website for the latest updates and totals.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Weekly health report notes 511 new COVID-19 cases, 667 for flu