Hidalgo County has surpassed the 8,000 mark in positive COVID-19 cases as 313 more people tested positive over the weekend.
The county also announced eight more deaths as a result of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 150.
With the 313 new cases, the county now has a total of 8,040 positive cases.
“I am deeply saddened by today’s devastating news as friends and families mourn the loss of their loved ones. My sympathies are shared with each and every one of you,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said in a news release.
“I urge the community to step up and take control of this deadly virus by protecting each other and doing what we know saves lives.”
There are currently 786 people in hospitals with COVID-19, of which 200 are in intensive care units.
The county has tested 61,257 people as of Sunday, and 52,093 have tested negative for COVID-19. There are currently 1,117 tests pending results.
The news comes on the same day that Willacy County reported 58 additional COVID-19 cases, for a total of 325 cases reported there.
The new cases include 11 children age 12 and under, with four children under the age of 5. The others range in ages, including two people in their 70s.
“This is just another reminder that this virus is in our neighborhood and with more testing being done, the more likely it will be to get another positive case,” Willacy County Judge Aurelio Guerra said in a news release Sunday.
He urged citizens to stay at home, social distance, routinely wash hands, wear face coverings and cover sneezes and coughs.
Meanwhile, in Starr County, health officials confirmed 45 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday and are waiting for “state confirmation” on 26 deaths in addition to the five confirmed so far, said Dr. Jose Vazquez, the county’s health authority.
Health officials announced the new figures — which bring the county’s total cases to 1,102 — in a news release Sunday.
Of the total cases, 801 “are recovering under medical care,” Vazquez indicated in the news release.
Twenty-six deaths are “pending state confirmation,” he wrote.
The new cases include two 7-year-old children — a girl from Rio Grande City and a boy from Roma — and range in age up to 74.
