‘Not reached our peak’ say El Paso officials amid more virus cases, word of new deaths

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso city and county officials holding a coronavirus briefing on Tuesday evening reported 47 new cases for a total of 587.

"We have not reached our peak," because we are still seeing significant numbers of additional cases, said City/County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza.

He indicated at least 42 of the total cases involved patients and staff at a healthcare facility, which ABC-7 has previously identified as the El Paso Psychiatric Center.

Officials reported no new deaths having happened, however ABC-7 was aware of two fatalities stemming from the virus that were known to have occurred over the past day.

Ocaranza said there can often be a lag in deaths being officially reported because "it takes days for us to complete our epidemiological investigation."

The new deaths identified by ABC-7 included a 70-year-old veteran who died at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, in what was the first virus death reported from the military hospital.

Also Tuesday, the family of a Ciudad Juárez maquiladora supervisor, who was a U.S. citizen, reported his virus death an El Paso hospital. Raul Rosales was 57.

The official count listed nine Covid-19 deaths total in El Paso County, which was unchanged from Monday.

Meanwhile, Ocaranza said mobile testing efforts in El Paso will now be expanded to include anyone showing symptoms of the virus; he also said some hospitals locally may now have the new Abbott Labs quick test capability.

“We are moving into the third phase of our testing and are now able to test the general community who are showing Covid-19 symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, etc.,” Ocaranza said, adding that he expects an increase in the amount of those testing positive will occur.

The testing is free and a doctor's order or insurance is not required, he explained. To make an appointment for drive-thru testing, those with symptoms can call (915) 212-0783 Monday through Saturday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Ocaranza indicated 6,720 tests had been performed in El Paso to date by public and private labs, with just 8.6% of those coming back positive.

Below is the latest case locator map and other demographic information on the virus outbreak as provided by the health department.