Texas to reduce COVID reporting to once per week, beginning next week

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In the latest sign that society is ready to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Texas will reduce reporting of coronavirus data starting next week.

The Department of State Health Services will only report new data once per week, on Wednesdays.

The state's dashboard showing vaccination figures will no longer be updated, the agency reports.

Since the start of the pandemic, almost 8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Texas, along with almost 90,000 deaths. The state uses the cause of death listed on death certificates to determine COVID-19 deaths, meaning the figure only includes those with COVID as a direct cause of death.

KXAN has been keeping track of COVID-19 across Texas since March 2020. Click here for the latest statewide numbers.

As of Nov. 23, Texas is reporting an average of 2,275 new cases. That's the highest seven-day average since Oct. 4.

The state is also reporting an average of 10 deaths per day. A total of 1,259 Texans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the highest total since Oct. 10.

When looking back at this day in previous years, today's numbers are much lower than they have been. One year ago, for example, the state was averaging more than a thousand more cases per day. In 2020, Texas was reporting 12,300 cases per day, more than five times today's average.

The difference in death totals is even more stark. Right now, the state is reporting an average of 10 deaths per day, compared to 83 at this time last year and 144 in 2020.

Could the holidays lead to an increase in cases?

In 2020, there was a modest increase in the number of cases reported throughout the holiday period, increasing from about 11,200 on Nov. 20 to more than 22,000 per day in mid January.

The holiday bump in cases was much more noticeable last year, as the omicron variant spread across Texas. Average cases per day jumped from fewer than 5,000 in late November to a peak of 64,718 on Jan. 17.

A record 75,817 new cases were reported on a single day — Jan. 12, 2022.

While it's too early to know if the holidays will lead to an increase in cases this year, doctors are urging people to get the latest COVID-19 booster vaccine.