El Paso’s virus death toll continues to rise even as active cases, hospitalizations drop

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso's death toll from Covid-19 officially grew by four more on Sunday morning, as the county reached 1,288 deaths - contributing to a statewide death count in Texas that has exceeded 25,000, which is the second largest of any state in the nation.

The Borderland's latest confirmed deaths included a man in his 50s, a woman in her 60s, a man in his 80s, and a woman in her 80s.

The death toll will inevitably grow higher as 581 deaths suspected of being caused by Covid-19 are currently under investigation.

Health officials on Sunday also reported 251 new cases and 8 delayed positives. There are currently 36,001 active coronavirus infections in El Paso, which dropped by 64 from the previous day.

There were 504 El Pasoans hospitalized for the virus as of Sunday morning, which is down by 34 from Saturday. Of those patients, 196 were listed in intensive care - which is a decrease of 12 over the past day, and 143 required ventilators - which is a decline of eight.

The number of hospitalizations in El Paso is now at its lowest level since mid-October.

However, Covid patients currently represent 21% of all El Paso hospitalizations. The state threshold to lower restrictions currently in place is 15%, so a greater decline in hospitalizations is still needed before the economy can reopen further.

To date, there have been 95,177 El Pasoans infected with the virus, with officials estimating that 57,275, or about 60%, have recovered. But doctors caution that some recovered persons may still have ongoing health issues due to having once been infected.

Complete El Paso Covid-19 data can be found at EPStrong.org.