El Paso virus deaths on verge of 1,000; active cases near high of 38,000, hospital patients drop
EL PASO, Texas -- With 16 confirmed coronavirus deaths added to the fatality list on Saturday morning, El Paso County's pandemic death toll reached 999 - just one shy of the grim 1,000 mark.
In all, there were 76 deaths reported for the week ending Saturday.
The youngest victims among the latest Covid-19 deceased in El Paso were only in their 40s. The complete list of the 16 deaths provided by health officials is as follows...
- 2 men in their 40s
- 1 man in his 50s
- 2 men in their 60s
- 2 women in their 60s
- 4 men in their 70s
- 1 woman in her 70s
- 2 men in their 80s
- 2 women in their 80s
The actual El Paso death toll from Covid-19 is thought to be much higher as hundreds of suspected Covid-19 deaths going back weeks, and in some cases months, are still under investigation. Most suspected deaths investigated to date have ended up being confirmed as Covid fatalities.
Bob Moore, the CEO of El Paso Matters, observed earlier this week that between confirmed and suspected virus deaths: "We continue to average 1 Covid-19 death per hour" in the community.
Meantime, active infections neared a new record high of 38,000 on Saturday as El Paso health officials reported 416 new cases and 24 delayed positives. There are currently 37,925 active cases out of a pandemic total of 89,540.
On Saturday morning, hospitalizations dropped by over 30 to take the total below 800 for the first time since late October. The current patient count was 794, with 291 of those listed in intensive care and 209 requiring the use of ventilators.
Complete EL Paso County virus data from the health department is available at EPstrong.org.
