Another 13 people died due to COVID-19 across the Rio Grande Valley Thursday while COVID hospitalizations continue to decline, dropping more than 23% in one week.
Of 13 Valley residents reported to have died due to COVID-related complications, eight were from Hidalgo County including two who were not vaccinated.
Their deaths raise the county’s total number of deaths to 3,741, according to a news release issued by the county on Thursday.
County officials also reported 163 new cases including 60 confirmed and 103 probable cases. The county now has a total of 162,246 recorded cases since the start of the pandemic. Those include 98,267 confirmed, 60,765 probable and 3,214 suspected cases.
Schools throughout the county also reported new cases on Thursday, including 482 among staff and 1,743 new cases among students.
A total of 4,730 staff members and 16,250 students have tested positive since the beginning of the school year in August 2021.
Cameron County officials reported five COVID-related deaths which raised their total number of COVID fatalities to 2,136. All five deceased individuals were unvaccinated.
There were also 207 new cases in Cameron County including 167 confirmed cases, 39 probable cases, and one case that resulted from an at-home test.
While there continue to be deaths due to COVID throughout the Valley, there also continues to be a decrease hospitalizations.
On Wednesday, there were 384 COVID hospitalizations throughout the RGV, according to data posted by the Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday.
Just a week prior, on Feb. 9, hospitalizations were nearly 24% higher with a total of 502 people hospitalized due to COVID.
At the beginning of the month, hospitalizations were nearly 37% higher than they are now with 608 people hospitalized at the time due to COVID.
The 384 patients reported Wednesday included 257 adults, 118 adults in intensive care units, and nine pediatric patients.
But despite the decline, patients hospitalized due to COVID still make up nearly 17% of all hospitalizations and make up 14% of all hospital capacity.
Hospitalizations just in Hidalgo County also followed the same trend, dropping to 277 patients from the 284 reported the previous day. The hospitalized patients included 254 adults and 23 pediatric patients.
Of the 277 patients, there were also 79 patients in intensive care units, including 74 adults and five pediatric patients.
