El Pasoans told stay home & stop gathering after 22 more virus deaths, nearly 2,000 new cases

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- City leaders urged El Pasoans to stay home whenever possible amidst a worsening public health crisis due to the growing spread of Covid-19.

Mayor Dee Margo at a news conference Thursday afternoon cited "significant spread coming from family and non-family gatherings in homes and other locations."

The push against gatherings came as the El Paso Department of Public Health earlier Thursday announced 22 more coronavirus-related deaths. The death toll now stands at 639 in El Paso County.

Officials said all 22 of the latest confirmed deaths were El Pasoans who had underlying health conditions. They included:

• 1 man in his 40s
• 2 men in their 50s
• 1 woman in her 50s
• 3 women in their 60s
• 2 men in their 60s
• 8 men in their 70s
• 2 women in their 70s
• 1 men in his 80s
• 2 women in their 90s

Health officials noted these deaths did not occur on the same day. The deaths happened between August and November. As ABC-7 has reported, the health department needs to complete an epidemiological study to determine the official cause of death. There remain 286 deaths that are currently under investigation.

There are 1,003 Covid-19 patients currently hospitalized, with 292 in the ICU, as hospitals continue to struggle.

The health department also announced 1,920 new cases on Wednesday. This is a new, single-day record for El Paso. There's currently a 23.92% average positivity rate.

El Paso announced 3,100 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, which was a single-day record. However, the health department clarified that this was actually a two-day total, and attributed the confusion to a data input error.

There are 22,954 known active virus cases currently, also an all-time high.

Since the start of the pandemic there have been 58,275 confirmed cases, with 34,528 reported recoveries. Although doctors note that some recovered persons still face long-term health impacts from having been infected.

For a complete look at El Paso's Covid-19 data, click here.

The death toll in El Paso climbs sharply as Covid-19 continues to spread out of control:

• 22 deaths (286 under investigation)
• 1,920 new cases
• 22,954 active cases (record)
• 1,003 hospitalized
• 292 in ICU
• 23.92% avg. positivity ratehttps://t.co/ozTK2OWYsQ pic.twitter.com/rvVTPs37KG

— Erik Elken KVIA ABC-7 (@ErikElkenKVIA) November 5, 2020