El Paso sees 3 straight weeks of daily virus death reports, plus hits new active case record

EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso health officials reported two new coronavirus deaths on Sunday morning, raising the fatality count to 293 and marking the 21st consecutive day of virus-related deaths reported in the county.

The latest victims were both men, one in his 60s and the other in his 70s. Men have now accounted for a much higher number of deaths than women in El Paso throughout the pandemic.

Health leaders also tallied 268 new virus cases Sunday, bringing the infection total to 16,308. Of those, 4,362 cases are considered active - a new record high - surpassing 4,037 actives on July 21.

As of Sunday, there have been 11,946 recoveries - although research suggests that some people who recover from the virus face long-term health issues as a result of having been infected.

Hospitalizations continued a downward decline Sunday morning at 211 patients. That's the lowest number of people hospitalized with illness from the virus since July 5. Data showed 72 of those patients currently require intensive care while 40 were on ventilators.