Hidalgo County schools reported another 662 new cases of the virus Thursday as Rio Grande Valley schools continue to grapple with a return to in-person instruction amid a surge of infections and staffing shortages.
There were 216 new cases among school staff and 446 cases among students, according to Thursday’s data from Hidalgo County health officials.
That brings the total number of positive cases at schools to 1,468 among staff and 5,041 among students since August 2021.
Thirteen more people were hospitalized with COVID-19 for a total of 162 hospitalizations.
That’s on top of a 60% increase in hospitalizations reported Wednesday.
The 162 individuals that were reported hospitalized on Thursday included 141 adults and 21 pediatric patients.
They also include 42 adults and one pediatric patient who were treated in intensive care units.
Hidalgo County also reported two more residents died due to COVID and another 398 people tested positive.
The two deceased include a Mercedes man in his 50s and a Weslaco man over 70 years old. One was unvaccinated.
Their deaths raise the county’s total number of COVID-related fatalities to 3,534.
The 398 new positive cases include 150 confirmed cases, 147 probable cases and one suspected case.
The county now has a total of 124,817 recorded cases since the start of the pandemic. Those cases include 72,056 confirmed cases, 49,579 probable cases, and 3,182 suspected cases.
Currently, the county has 1,650 active cases.
