El Paso reports 4 new virus deaths; hospitalizations increase by 28
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- For the first time since Friday, the El Paso Department of Public Health reported new coronavirus deaths.
Four Covid-19 related deaths, 28 new hospitalizations and 181 new cases were announced Tuesday morning.
The death toll now stands at 139. Hospitalizations reached a new peak, increasing to 246. There are currently 71 patients in the ICU and 29 are on ventilators.
"The surge is here," Dr. Joel Hendryx, the chief medical officer at University Medical Center of El Paso told ABC-7. "Our increase (in hospitalizations) has been 200% over the last couple of weeks. And it's exponentially growing... capacity is one of the issues that we're looking at and dealing with."
The number of known active cases also reached a new peak on Tuesday at 2,821. There have now been 7,642 total confirmed virus cases with 4,682 recoveries identified by the health department.
For a complete look at the health department's latest data, click here.