El Paso comes close to another new virus case high at 541; deaths rise

EL PASO, Texas -- A day after reporting a record daily number of new Covid-19 cases, El Paso health leaders came close to doing so again on Sunday.

Officials reported 541 additional Covid-19 cases — five short of the 546 reported Saturday — and two additional deaths. It also marked the third day out of the last four with new virus cases exceeding 500.

In just a little over a week, El Paso County has recorded more than 3,000 added cases. It set yet another record Sunday for the number of active infections, which now tally 5,893 and represents 20% of the 28,499 total cases that have occurred during the entire pandemic.

The latest deaths reported Sunday included a man and a woman, each in their 70s, and both said to have underlying conditions. El Paso County's pandemic death total reached 549.

The county's hospitalization rate is on the rise too, hitting its highest level since early August. As of Sunday, 259 patients were hospitalized due to Covid-19, with 79 of those listed in intensive care.

"The percent of total hospitalizations related to Covid-19 in El Paso County is 16%, the percent of total hospitalizations related to Covid-19 in the trauma service area is currently at 13.6%," said El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, who reaffirmed this weekend that he will not allow bars locally to reopen due to the surge in new virus cases and hospitalizations.

Complete El Paso Department of Health data on the coronavirus pandemic can be found at epstrong.org.