Hidalgo County issues warning: COVID hospitalizations are on the rise

EDINBURG — A significant increase in Hidalgo County COVID-19 hospitalizations Monday prompted authorities to issue a warning urging residents to receive a vaccination for the coronavirus and cautioning them to continue practicing pandemic protocols.

The county started the day with 52 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 21 of them in intensive care units. Those numbers jumped to 67 hospitalizations with 24 ICU patients later in the day.

By Monday afternoon, they spiked to 93 patients with 36 ICU patients, according to a county news release.

“I know all of us are tired and all of us are frustrated with this disease,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez wrote in the release. “But it’s still here and it’s still dangerous.”

Those hospitalization rates were lower than rates earlier this year and certainly lower than rates at the pandemic’s zenith this summer.

Even so, the county indicated those numbers are cause for concern, attributing at least some of them to more activity among vaccinated individuals, who can still contract the virus or be a carrier for it, according to the release.

Almost two dozen fully vaccinated individuals have already attested positive for the virus, the release stated, and another 23 have tested positive for new variants of it — none of them the Delta variant so far.

“There are now 11 different variants and a whole lot more activity in our community,” Cortez wrote. “While I welcome this return to normalcy, I urge people to continue to play it safe. We have said it before: practice good hygiene, wear facial coverings and be mindful of standing close to others in public.”

Cases numbers and fatality figures rose along with the hospitalization rates Monday.

The county added 172 new cases of COVID-19 to its roster along with two more deaths tied to the virus.

The fatalities were both Mission men in their 60s, deaths that bring the pandemic death toll in the county to 2,922.

Out of Monday’s cases, the county reported 95 as confirmed and 77 as probable, bringing the area to a total of 61,376 confirmed cases, 30,601 probable and 2,237 suspected.

The total number of cases in the county stands at 94,214.

The hospitalization increase prompted Cortez to make a plea that’s become the leitmotif of local officials and health authorities: get vaccinated.

“Please get vaccinated and please be vigilant. That’s the only way we are going to beat this disease,” Cortez pleaded.

Cameron County also released COVID-19 data Monday, showing another 173 cases of the virus and four additional deaths.

The new cases bring Cameron’s tally to 42,874.

Cameron’s virus toll is now at 1,698.