Hidalgo County officials reported Thursday that 121 people tested positive for the coronavirus, in addition to five COVID-related deaths.
The youngest among the deaths included a Pharr man in his 40s. Others included an Alamo man in his 50s and three people 70 or older. Of the five deaths, officials said four were not vaccinated. The death toll in the county now stands at 3,445.
Of the 121 cases reported by the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department on Thursday, 20 were confirmed, 92 probable and nine were suspected.
The majority of cases reported Thursday were led by children 11 or younger with 40 cases. Youth older than 12, but younger than 19, were the next highest age group with 20 cases. Adults in their 30s trailed behind with 14 cases.
Additionally, county officials reported 10 staff members from local schools have tested positive for COVID-19 along with 86 more students.
Hidalgo County does not include in their COVID statistics whether people who test positive for the virus are vaccinated. The county continues to track cases in schools as a total of 3,322 students and 677 school staff tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday.
Officials also reported 79 people are in Hidalgo County hospitals, the majority being adults with the exception of seven children. Moreover, 36 patients are in intensive care units, according to the county, two of whom are children.
Hidalgo County also reported the Texas Division of Emergency Management has administered monoclonal antibody infusion treatments to 1,530 people at the Regional Infusion Center, which opened at DHR Health in Edinburg on Aug. 27.
The county’s case tally is 117,676, of which 68,437 were confirmed, 46,373 probable and 2,866 suspected, with 701 cases reported active.
The county reported 120 people were released from isolation Thursday, raising that total to 113,530.
As of Thursday, a total of 695,466 COVID-19 tests have been administered in Hidalgo County, with 577,033 returning negative results.
Hidalgo County uses the case status definitions provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services’ 2020 Epi Case Criteria Guide:
>> Confirmed cases are those who tested positive through a molecular or PCR (oral or nasal swabs) test that looks for the presence of the virus’s genetic material;
>> Probable cases are those who meet presumptive laboratory evidence through detection of COVID-19 by antigen test in a respiratory specimen;
>> Suspect cases are those who meet supported laboratory evidence through detection of specific antibodies in serum, plasma, whole body and no prior history of being confirmed or probable case.
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