Hidalgo County reported 303 additional positive cases Friday morning, and nearly a third of those numbers include students and staff from local schools.
According to a news release, 25 staff members and 59 students account for 84 of the 303 new COVID-19 cases in the county. Even more alarming is that 132 of the 303 new cases include those under the age of 19.
Children under 12, which can’t be vaccinated against the virus, accounted for 89 of the new cases — the highest reported cases of all of the age groups.
The new cases include 108 confirmed cases and 195 probable cases, which collectively raise the county’s total reported number of positive cases to 105,508. Those numbers include 65,128 confirmed cases, 38,109 probable cases, and 2,271 suspect cases.
The news comes on the same day that the county reported six additional COVID-19 related deaths. The deaths include an Alton man in his 40s, a Donna man in his 50s, an Edinburg man in his 30s, a Weslaco man in his 60s, and two men from McAllen, one in his 20s and the other in his 60s.
The deaths reported Friday morning raised the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,029.
As of Friday morning, there were 459 people in county hospitals with COVID-19 related issues, including 411 adults and 48 children. The county also reported there were118 people in intensive care units, of which 112 are adults and six are children.
Additionally, there were 414 people released from isolation, raising that total to 98,650. There were 3,829 net active cases in the county as of Friday morning.
Hidalgo County has administered a total of 598,313 COVID-19 tests, and 491,965 of those cases had negative results.
Cameron County reported four COVID-19 related deaths and an additional 160 confirmed cases of the virus Friday.
The four deaths include a Brownsville woman in her 60s, a Combes woman in her 80s, a Harlingen man in his 70s, and a San Benito man in his 40s. The deaths raised the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,750.
Friday’s 160 confirmed cases include 42 people from the county’s unaccompanied minor shelters and detention centers in Brownsville, Harlingen, Los Fresnos and San Benito.
According to a news release from Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño’s office, 12 county employees tested positive for the virus, including an employee in the Elections Department, an employee from the International Bridge System, an employee from Juvenile Probation, three employees from Public Health, an employee from Public Works Precinct 2, and five employees from the Sheriff’s Office.
Friday’s confirmed cases raised the county’s total number of reported cases to 47,891.
The county also reported that an additional 260 people recovered from the virus, raising that total to 43,495.
As of Friday evening, 71.85% of Cameron County’s population age 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, and 87.11% have received at least one dose. Additionally, 83% of the county’s population age 65 and older have been fully vaccinated, and 91.59% have received at least one dose.
