As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow, COVID-19 patients are making up a larger portion of all hospitalizations across the Rio Grande Valley, nearing 30% of all hospitalizations this week.
As of Monday, COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Valley were at 636, an increase of 27 patients from the previous day, though not as high as the 640 reported on Thursday.
Despite the small drop last week, Monday’s number reflects a continuing upward trend in the number of people hospitalized due to COVID and state data shows that those cases are consistently making up a larger percentage of all hospitalizations.
The 636 hospitalizations in the RGV trauma service area made up 28.6% of all patients admitted into area hospitals, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The last time COVID cases accounted for that large of a percentage was in late January when 28.8% of all hospitalizations were due to COVID.
When it comes to total hospital capacity, COVID-19 cases currently make up approximately 23% of total hospital capacity, according to that same DSHS data. The last time they made up that much of total capacity was about a year ago on Aug. 19, 2020, when COVID-19 cases made up 23.8% of hospital capacity in the Valley.
In Hidalgo County alone, there are 469 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals, according to a news release issued by the county, with 107 of those patients being treated in intensive care units.
The county also reported four more deaths related to COVID-19, those of an Edinburg woman in her 40s, a San Juan woman in her 50s, and two women over 70 years old — one from Alamo and the other from Mission.
Their deaths bring the total number of deaths in Hidalgo County to 3,007.
The county also reported 521 new cases which raise the total case count to 104,273 since the start of the pandemic.
Of those cases, 64,722 were confirmed, 37,282 were probable, and 2,269 were suspected.
Currently, 4,011 cases are considered active.
Cameron County health officials reported one COVID-related death, a Port Isabel man in his 30s, for a total of 1,739 deaths among county residents.
Cameron County officials also reported 200 new cases. There have been a total of 47,331 cases reported there and a total of 42,612 people have recovered.
Starr County reported 34 new confirmed cases on Tuesday and seven probable cases, according to county trend data from DSHS. Willacy County had 25 new confirmed cases and one new probable case.
