El Paso virus cases soar to 153, with 28 new infections in a day: See locator map
EL PASO, Texas — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in El Paso County has now reached 153, officials said Tuesday evening, noting a 28-case jump in just a day's time.
The spike in cases comes less than a month after the first positive case was identified on March 13, according to health leaders.
“This rise in cases is to be expected because of increased testing, and community spread,” said City/County Health Authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza. "We need a community-wide effort to observe social distancing and stay home.”
Two of those newly-reported cases Tuesday involved family members of Del Valle Middle School employee, prompting school officials to suspend meal pickup service and ask some other workers to self-quarantine.
The virus cases in El Paso County are now almost equally divided between women and men, with 79 and 74 infections, respectively.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 27 patients hospitalized due to the virus - with ten people listed in intensive care.
Below is the latest case locator map and other demographic information on the virus outbreak as provided by the health department.
