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Active cases in Orange County rose to 829 bringing the number up by 183 since last week when the numbers were reported.

The grand total of cases since March 2020 is now at 10,962. Of those, 9,980 are reported as recovered. There were 478 reported as recovered this week.

For the month of August, the reported cases for Orange County have increased by at least 150 cases per week. Listed below are the reflected trends:

Aug. 3- Aug. 9: 216 new cases

Aug. 10- Aug. 16: 529 new cases

Aug. 17- Aug. 23: 691 new cases

The highest number of cases to date was reported om December 16, 2020 with 1,762 active cases.

Children born in the years 2003-2016 (5- 18 years old) experienced a significant jump per week.

Aug. 3- Aug. 9: 34 new cases

Aug. 10- Aug. 16: 77 new cases

Aug. 17- Aug. 23: 173 new cases

Hospitalizations

There are 49 cases currently being hospitalized:

2 were fully vaccinated

0 partially vaccinated

47 were not vaccinated

No update was sent from the Medical Center.

With support and collaboration from the State of Texas through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), the Offices of Emergency Management from Jefferson, Orange, Hardin and Jasper Counties, Baptist Hospital, Christus Hospital, Medical Center of Southeast Texas and Mid Jefferson Medical Center announced that a Regional Infusion Center serving Southeast Texas opened Monday, August 23.

The infusion center is located at 5500 Eastex Fwy in Beaumont. It serves as an outpatient infusion treatment center for adults and children ages 12 and up. The infusion center for COVID-19 patients is operational seven days a week from 7 a.m. through 7 p.m.

The establishment of this infusion center is expected to increase the number of daily infusions available by 500%, enabling local and state partners to administer infusions of Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment to 150 patients daily.

At Governor Greg Abbott’s direction, TDEM contracted with the private vendor and will provide all the necessary equipment and staffing resources to ensure the center is fully operational. The local entities are providing the facility, an on-site physician, security, internet access, and an appointment hotline.

Your primary care physician will schedule the infusion. If you test positive and do not have a doctor, you may call the hotline to schedule an appointment at (409)550-2536. Press option 1 for the infusion center. Callers are encouraged to keep dialing if confronted with a busy signal.

Patients must be confirmed COVID-19 positive before contacting the center. The calls will be screened by medical personnel for eligibility and individuals will be given an appointment date and time.

“The State of Texas is continuing to expand access to COVID-19 antibody therapeutics in communities across the Lone Star State,” said Governor Abbott.

Governor Abbott, TDEM, and the Texas Department of State Health Services have established and expanded antibody infusion centers in communities across the state over the past few weeks. COVID-19 antibody infusion treatment can prevent a patient’s condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. These facilities also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients. The State deployed similar measures beginning in November 2020 to communities across Texas.

These state sponsored Infusion Centers are in addition to the antibody infusion treatment that is provided by more than 200 private health providers across the state.

Antibody infusion centers are currently operating in the following communities, with more coming online in the coming days:

• Austin (DSHS)
• Beaumont (TDEM)
• The Woodlands (DSHS)
• Corpus Christi (DSHS)
• Fort Worth (DSHS)
• Harlingen (TDEM)
• Houston (DSHS)
• Laredo (DSHS)
• Lubbock (TDEM)
• Nacogdoches (TDEM)
• Odessa (TDEM)
• San Antonio (DSHS)

The treatment is free and available to all Texans who test positive for COVID-19 and have a doctor’s referral. Texans can visit meds.tdem.texas.gov to find a therapeutic provider near them.