Hospitalizations of people infected with COVID-19 continued to rise this week throughout the Rio Grande Valley as the counties continue to report thousands of new cases each week.
Starting out at a total of 140 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Valley on Monday, the number of patients steadily increased throughout the week until reaching 157 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Thursday, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS.
The 157 patients on Thursday included 122 adults, 28 adults in intensive care units, and seven pediatric patients.
As of Thursday, COVID hospitalizations made up 7.2% of all hospitalizations in the Valley.
COVID hospitalizations increased on a smaller scale as well.
Just in Hidalgo County, there were 102 COVID hospitalizations reported at the beginning of the week which increased to 118 hospitalizations by week’s end.
The county remains at a high COVID-19 community level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is determined by the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the number of new COVID-19 cases in the area over the last seven days.
Hidalgo County reported there were 2,320 new cases this week including 813 confirmed cases and 1,507 probable cases.
There have now been a total of 225,579 recorded cases of COVID in Hidalgo County including 143,478 confirmed, 78,942 probable and 3,159 suspected cases.
The county also reported 11 more residents died due to COVID-19, raising the county’s total number of COVID deaths to 3,968. Five of the deceased residents were unvaccinated.
Among the other Valley counties, Starr County is also still at a high community level and Willacy County is at a medium community level. Meanwhile, Cameron County was downgraded to a low community level this week.
Cameron County health officials reported 1,328 new cases this week including 559 confirmed cases, 766 probable, and three self-reported cases.
There were also six additional Cameron County residents who died due to COVID-related complications, including four who were not fully vaccinated. The county has now reported a total of 2,283 COVID-related deaths.
Starr County reported 36 confirmed cases and 47 probable cases from Monday through Wednesday, according to DSHS data. Willacy County reported 27 confirmed cases and five probable cases during that same time period.
