One-third of new COVID-19 cases in Hidalgo County tied to schools

One-third of the 460 new cases of COVID-19 that Hidalgo County reported Wednesday were linked to schools.

County health officials also reported eight deaths Wednesday, bringing this week’s death toll to 25 and the overall tally to 3,118.

The deaths included a Mercedes man in his 20s, two women in their 30s from McAllen and Mercedes, an Edinburg man in his 50s, a man and a woman in their 50s from Mission and a Weslaco man in his 60s.

Of the 460 new cases reported Wednesday, 150 were tied to schools, with 32 school staff members and 118 students testing positive for the virus. 

Since the county began keeping a tally of cases in schools, a total of 800 students and 321 school staff members have tested positive. 

The county also reported 416 people remained hospitalized Wednesday, with 147 of them being treated in intensive care units. Forty-two children were hospitalized, with seven of them in intensive care units.

There are currently 3,252 active cases in Hidalgo County and more than 108,000 have been reported since the start of the pandemic.

The county also reported the Texas Division of Emergency Management has administered monoclonal antibody infusion treatments to 82 people at the new Regional Infusion Center that opened last week on the campus of DHR Health in Edinburg.

Cameron County reported an additional 198 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, increasing its overall tally to 49,587. 

There were also another 43 cases of the virus at unaccompanied minor shelters and detention centers in the county.

Three more people died due to COVID-19 in Cameron, two men in their 70s from Brownsville and Harlingen and a San Benito woman in her 60s. 

Their deaths raise the virus toll in Cameron County to 1,789.