EDINBURG, Texas – Hidalgo County health officials say the number of local residents that have died as a result of COVID-19 has now topped the 800 mark.
Seventeen more people in Hidalgo County have died. That brings the total number of people who have died from complications of the virus to 807
The county also reported 207 people tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. That brings the total number of known positive cases in the county to 19,741.
Sunday’s totals reflect two days of reporting since county health officials did not report on Saturday.
“I am saddened the death toll continues to rise,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of those who have died and my prayers go out to those who have contracted this awful disease. My hope is that we begin to see a downward trend in these numbers because people are staying home and staying safe by avoiding others.”
Cortez said there are now 4,115 active cases of COVID-19 in the county as a total of 115,448 tests have now been administered. He said free testing will continue throughout the week, including locations in Pharr and the City of Hidalgo.
As with all Sundays, hospitalizations were not reported. As of Friday, there were 692 people hospitalized with the virus; 246 of them were being treated in intensive care units.
Treviño: We said there would be a spike
Meanwhile, Cameron County has received confirmation of nine additional COVID-19 related deaths. This raises the total of deaths to 367.
Cameron County has received confirmation of an additional 300 laboratory reports of COVID-19. This raises the total number of COVID-19 cases to 16,590 in Cameron County. There have also been an additional 901 individuals who have recovered, raising the total number of recovered individuals to 7,317.
Cameron County Public Health continues to work with six nursing home facilities and one detention center in addressing the COVID-19 outbreaks. To date, the Cameron County cases arising from the Port Isabel Service Processing Center has 12 employees and 85 detainees who have tested positive.
“As part of the COVID-19 action response plan, Cameron County Public Health is conducting epidemiological investigations, contact tracing as needed and continues to monitor the situation,” the county stated.
Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., held a news conference on the subject of the coronavirus last Friday.
“We had warned everybody that you, the public, would see a spike, in cases from our reporting. And, sure enough, that is exactly what happened. We were doing this in the hopes of trying to catch up,” Treviño said, during the news conference.
“In the last week we have increased by 5,710 positive COVID-19 cases and unfortunately increased by 135 deaths.”
Treviño added: “So, last Friday, July 31, we were at 10,155 cases. We are now at, as of this morning, 15,865. Almost 16,000. We were at 206 deaths last week. We are now sadly reporting 341. On behalf of myself and the county commissioners court and all of the people of Cameron County, we extend our most sincere condolences to the families of those individuals who have lost their fight against COVID-19.”
Editor’s Note: Credit for the main image accompanying the above news story goes to Wallpaper Flare.
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