Hidalgo County is decreasing its emergency operational status as cases of COVID-19 continue to fall.
The county announced Tuesday it is downgrading its emergency operational status from a Level 2 to a Level 3. The lowest level, indicating normal operations, is Level 5.
The downgrade marks a return to where the county was on March 5, 2020, before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
When Hidalgo County health officials confirmed the first case of COVID in the county, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez ordered the county to move to a Level 1 status, the maximum emergency status.
About 15 months later, the county downgraded to a Level 2, where it has remained until now.
The scaling back of its operational readiness level comes as the number of new cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county continue to drop.
On Tuesday, the county reported 100 new cases of COVID, which included 45 confirmed and 55 probable cases.
There were 22 people hospitalized throughout the county with COVID-19, 20 of whom were adults and two were pediatric patients. Of the adults, nine were in intensive care units.
Additionally, one more person died due to COVID-19, according to the county.
The deceased individual was an Alton man in his 50s. His death puts the county’s total number of COVID-related fatalities at 4,033.
