Hidalgo County announced 33 more people died as a result of COVID-19 related complications, raising the total number of deaths there to 433, while neighboring Cameron County reported an additional 16 deaths.
Hidalgo County officials also announced an additional 813 positive cases of the coronavirus, raising that total to 14,589.
“I send my sincere condolences to these 33 families for the loss of their loved one,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said in a news release Thursday. “We are at a point where action has to be taken by everyone in order to slow the spread of this infectious virus — our medical professionals are working long hours and beds are scarce. Please wear face coverings, avoid gatherings of 10 or more, and don’t leave your home unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
On June 23, there were 2,130 positive cases in Hidalgo County. That number has increased by 584% since then.
The county has also seen a 1,632% increase in the number of COVID-19 related deaths since June 23, when the death toll was at 25.
Of the 14,589 cases, 885 are currently in county hospitals and 192 are in intensive care units.
A total of 1,205 individuals were released from isolation Thursday, raising that total to 6,906.
As of Thursday, there have been a total of 97,970 tests conducted in the county, of which 82,267 were negative.
Edinburg has the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 2,520, or 17.3% of the total cases in Hidalgo County. Mission has the second highest with 2,211, or 15.2%. McAllen has 2,068 cases, and Pharr has 1,536 cases.
On Thursday, Cameron County announced an additional 16 COVID-19 related deaths, raising the total there to 153.
The deaths included a 97-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man from Primera; three men ages 55, 63, and 93, and a 67-year-old woman from San Benito; two men ages 67 and 89 from Los Fresnos; three men ages 58, 78 and 79 from Harlingen; a 73-year-old man from Rio Hondo, two men ages 69 and a 65 from Brownsville, and a 28-year-old woman from La Feria.
All died at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, though a 75-year old Brownsville woman also died at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville.
Cameron County also confirmed an additional 308 COVID-19 cases, raising the total there to 7,162.
The county also announced five more people recovered from the coronavirus, raising that total to 3,089.
The news comes on the same day that Willacy County confirmed 15 additional cases of COVID-19, raising the total number of cases there to 535.
The new cases there include a male child, a male and female in their teens, a woman and four men in their 20s, three women and one man in their 30s, and three women in their 40s.
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Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify information in reference to the total amount of testing done in Hidalgo County.
