EL PASO, Texas – In just four days, El Paso has posted roughly 1,000 additional positive test results from county residents for coronavirus, according to newly released data by local health officials.
It comes as the province also set a record on Saturday for the deadliest week to date recorded during the pandemic, with officials acknowledging that there are more than a hundred additional possible deaths from Covid under investigation.
The El Paso Department of Public Health on Saturday morning reported 91 new cases of Covd-19 along with what it called 356 “delayed test results” provided by the state, which at the request of the city has managed several test sites in El Paso.
This marked the second time this week in which significant positive case numbers were reported retroactively by local health leaders – drawing both questions and criticism, as some of the “delayed” cases are said to be as seven weeks old.
As a result, El Paso’s total case count from Saturday was 18,000. It had dropped to just 17,000 on Wednesday.
The health department also reported three new virus-related deaths on Saturday to increase the death toll from El Paso County to 357. The latest victims were a man in his 60s with no underlying health conditions, along with two women – one in her 70s and the others in their 80s.
That took the death toll for the week to 66, making it the deadliest reported week on record in El Paso – easily surpassing the previous record of 48 deaths set two weeks ago. Health leaders have now been reporting daily deaths for nearly a month – since July 19th.
In addition, the Department of Health notes for the first time on Saturday that there were 108 deaths still being investigated by the medical examiner and other officials who may also be the result of Covid-19.
Of Saturday’s cumulative total of 18,079 positive cases, officials said 13,296 – about 74 percent – had recovered. However, experts suggest that some recovering individuals may experience persistent health problems, particularly involving the heart or lungs, as a result of Covid disease.
That means 4,426 cases are currently active infections among El Pasoans, which is also a record number of active cases since the outbreak of viruses began months ago.
Hospitalizations fell again on Saturday to 161 patients, 22 down from the previous day and a decline of 33 over a two-day period. It is the lowest hospital percentage in El Paso since June 30th.
However, the number of hospitals in intensive care remained the same at 56, while use of ventilators by four patients dropped to 33.
After a week full of delayed case reports that stretched for weeks, El Paso Matters CEO Bob Moore took local officials to task for what he called the “unreliable data” collected and given to the public, marking it “dangerous. . “
“These data errors have enormous potential consequences. The El Paso Department of Public Health has under-reported the impact of a pandemic for several weeks,” he wrote in an op-ed Saturday. “Families, businesses and other governments – including schools – rely on that data to make potential life and death decisions.”
Click here for a complete breakdown of El Paso’s Covid-19 data provided by the health department.
