Hidalgo County confirmed 20 deaths due to the coronavirus on Thursday, hitting a new milestone and setting a new single-day increase as 1,274 new cases were also confirmed.
The county has now seen a total of 7,334 cases of COVID-19 with its death toll currently at 123.
“Several months ago, I warned of a potential tsunami if we did not take this more seriously,” county Judge Richard F. Cortez said during a social media briefing involving top county officials. “The tsunami is here.”
The individuals who died, according to a county news release, resided in Alamo, Edinburg, Hidalgo, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, San Juan and Weslaco. Ages ranged from their 20s to over 70.
It was also reported that 39 individuals were released from isolation, leaving 4,375 active cases in the county.
Additionally, according to the release, 741 people are currently being cared for in local hospitals, of which 194 are being cared for in intensive care units.
So far, the county has administered 60,256 tests.
County officials said Thursday that the new cases are not attributed to the thousands of tests conducted at H-E-B Park in Edinburg on Wednesday.
Cameron County also confirmed 126 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, according to a news release, raising the total numbers of cases there to 3,246.
Among the new cases, the youngest is a 9-month-old girl from Port Isabel, and the oldest is a 98-year-old man from Brownsville.
Additionally, 56 individuals were reported to have recovered from the disease, leaving 905 active cases in the county.
No new fatalities due to COVID-19 were reported, leaving the death toll there at 70.
