El Paso virus cases top 2,300 with 75 new infections; added cases outpace recoveries

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County ended a three-day streak of triple-digit increases in new virus cases Sunday, reporting 75 additional infections to put the case total above 2,300.

With confirmed cases now at 2,340, the death count held steady at 58 on Sunday.

Hospitalizations were down a bit to 109 patients, but well over half of those hospitalized (61) were listed in intensive care. And roughly a third of those in the ICU (20) required ventilators.

As of Sunday, there were 1,045 people with active virus cases, while 1,237 people who had the virus were now considered recovered.

The number of new cases at 75 was more than double the 29 added to the recovery list over the past day; this trend of new cases outpacing recoveries has been prevalent in recent weeks - which some attribute to increased testing.

Since the start of expanded testing two weeks ago as a result of a virus surge team sent to El Paso by the governor, there have been 1,000 additional positive cases compared with 552 recoveries - nearly a two-to-one margin. In that same period, El Paso has also pushed above 1,000 active cases for the first time.

During the past two weeks the death toll has almost doubled too, growing from 32 to 58.

The El Paso Department of Public Health's latest virus data can be found here.