Hidalgo County confirmed 40 additional deaths linked to COVID-19 on Thursday, raising the death toll here to 616.
“Each day we continue to lose more of our fellow county residents to this deadly virus. I send my deepest condolences to the families of these victims,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said in a news release Thursday. “I remind you to practice social distancing and the use of facial coverings. COVID-19 can be spread by people who do not have symptoms and do not know that they are infected. Face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.”
The county also confirmed 271 new cases of the virus, bringing the total number of cases to 16,646.
There are currently 917 individuals fighting the disease in local hospitals, with 236 in intensive care units. And according to the county’s website, there are 232 COVID-19 beds left available.
So far, the county has administered 106,843 COVID-19 tests, of which 83.73% have been negative, according to the county’s dashboard.
On Thursday, 1,206 individuals were released from isolation, leaving 6,131 active cases.
Neighboring Cameron County confirmed six additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Thursday and 731 new cases of the virus — a single-day record for the county.
The new fatalities bring the death toll to 206 and the total case count to 10,155, according to information from a county news release.
One of the individuals who died was a 90-year-old resident of the Harlingen Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where 11 others have also succumbed to COVID-19 and six employees have tested positive.
On Thursday, 353 individuals were reported to have recovered from the disease, leaving 6,631 active cases in the county.
Starr County reported 28 new cases over a two-day period on Wednesday and Thursday, raising the total case count there to 1,941 according to Dr. Jose Vazquez, the county’s health authority.
The youngest among the new Wednesday cases include a 6-year-old and 8-year-old from Rio Grande City.
So far, 686 individuals have recovered from the disease, leaving 1,233 active cases in the county.
There were no deaths reported Thursday, leaving the death toll due to the coronavirus there at 22, with 41 deaths pending confirmation.
On Thursday, Willacy County confirmed three additional cases of the disease, raising the total number of cases there to 580, according to a county news release.
The new cases include a teenager and two individuals in their 30s.
