HARLINGEN — Texas recorded 858 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, which roughly matches the total number of new cases for each of the past five days.
So far, 24,631 coronavirus cases have been confirmed statewide, with 648 deaths. More than 10,000 Texans have recovered, although 1,542 remain hospitalized.
The numbers released Sunday by the Texas Department of State Health Services may be an indication that new virus cases are peaking, and that state and local shelter-at-home rules and social-distancing are beginning to make themselves felt.
The hardest-hit Texas counties are, as to be expected, some of the most populous, with Harris (5,628 cases), Dallas (2,909), Tarrant (1,836), Travis (1,396) and Bexar (1,231) leading the way.
In the Rio Grande Valley, Cameron County’s 366 cases and Hidalgo County’s 303 cases rank 14th and 17th highest among Texas counties. Across the state, 204 of Texas’ 254 counties have recorded at least one confirmed coronavirus case.
The age groups with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases are 50-59 years, 40-49 years, 30-39 years and 60 to 69 years.
Among the 304 COVID-19-linked deaths that have been investigated in Texas, DSHS data show the highest fatality rate among victims 80-plus years of age at 134, 30 were 75-79 years of age, 29 were 70-74 and 38 of the victims were between 65 and 69 years of age.
Rio Grande Valley confirmed case numbers are paralleling the state’s latest numbers, with the number of new infections actually lower than they have been in previous days.
In Cameron County, 12 new cases were reported Saturday to make it 366 confirmed, and just four new cases were reported the same day in Hidalgo County, which now has 303 cases. As of Friday, Willacy County had recorded 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases. One patient in his 60s has died.
Of those new cases in Cameron County, five each were recorded in Brownsville and Harlingen, and the other two were recorded in La Feria and San Benito. Only the La Feria case was attributed to community transmission; all the other cases are linked to previous cases.
DSHS officials say 73 COVID-19 patients remain hospitalized in Valley medical facilities with more than a dozen of those in intensive care.
