Hidalgo County schools saw a significant spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases among students and staff Tuesday.
The county reported 2,344 new cases among students and 866 new cases among staff in county schools. There have been a total of 13,922 cases among students and 4,046 among staff since the county began keeping track of COVID activity in schools in August 2021.
The news came on the same day that the county reported five COVID-19 related deaths and 646 newly reported cases of the virus Tuesday morning.
According to the county, all five individuals who died were over the age of 70. They were a man and a woman from Edinburg, a man from Hidalgo, a woman from McAllen, and a man from an undisclosed location. Only one of them was reportedly vaccinated.
Their deaths raised the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,664.
The 646 new cases included 117 confirmed and 529 probable cases. The new cases raised the county’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 158,586, including 97,393 confirmed, 57,985 probable and 3,208 suspect cases.
There were 371 people in county hospitals with the virus Tuesday, including 341 adults and 30 children. There were also 108 people in intensive care units, including 99 adults and nine children.
The county also reported 2,125 people were released from isolation Tuesday, raising that total to 152,514. There are 3,892 net active cases in the county.
As of Tuesday morning, the county had administered a total of 830,524 COVID-19 tests, and 671,275 yielded negative results.
Cameron County reported four additional COVID-19 related deaths and 439 new cases of the virus there.
The deaths include a woman in her 30s and a woman over 90 from Brownsville, and a woman in her 80s and a man in his 60s from Harlingen. All four people were unvaccinated. Their deaths raised the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,104.
The county’s new cases include 169 based on PCR testing, and 266 probable reports based on antigen testing.
Cameron County also reported that 82.90% of its population aged 5 and older have been fully vaccinated, and 99.99% have received at least one dose. In addition, 89.82% of the population aged 65-years and older have been fully vaccinated, and 99.99% have received at least one dose.
