El Paso’s virus death toll for week almost 100; record active cases near 35,500, over 1,000 still in hospitals

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso health officials reported eight more coronavirus deaths on Saturday to cap a week that saw a record 97 deceased and raised the overall pandemic fatality toll to 853.

The latest deaths included a man in his 50s, two men in their 60s, two men in their 70s, a man and a woman in their 80s and a woman in her 90s.

The number of active virus cases jumped to yet another new record at 35,456. There were 1,129 additional cases reported Saturday, 1,074 of which were new infections and 55 delayed positive test results. For the week, El Paso saw 7,260 new cases occuring.

Appearing Saturday on ABC's Good Morning America, Mayor Dee Margo said the majority of El Paso's new infections are coming from retail shopping.

Hospitalizations remained above the 1,000 mark on Saturday. Of the 1,055 patients hospitalized with Covid-19, 302 of those were listed in intensive care while 209 required the use of ventilators.

Complete El Paso health department virus data can be found online at EPStrong.org.