Local hotels will begin receiving convalescent patients from COVID-19 later this week, state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa announced Sunday as the death toll increased by more than 40 this weekend.
Dr. Ivan Meléndez, Hidalgo County Health Authority, said during a press conference Sunday that more than 1,000 new cases and more than 40 deaths have already been reported in Hidalgo County this weekend, Friday to Sunday, due to illness.
Before the end of the night, the county reported a total of 1,320 new confirmed cases in the past two days alone.
Judge Richard F. Cortez also announced that he will issue new emergency orders on Monday, although he has no “enforcement capacity.”
“But you know what? I don’t think I’m going to need it,” Cortez said, noting that the community is realizing the scale of the problem. He asked residents to “voluntarily do the right thing.”
And although Cortez did not indicate what those orders will entail, it did say that there is no quick solution.
“I want to tell you that blocking people, blocking companies is not the only answer,” he said. “It will take a combination of things.”
Its announcement comes as the number of cases on the rise and deaths have more than doubled and quadrupled, respectively, since the beginning of the month.
“This week is going to be bad. Next week will be worse, “said Hinojosa.
Still, Meléndez and Cortez expressed optimism during the conference.
“We are seeing some sunlight on the other side of the storm,” said Meléndez. “And we believe there are some positive things in the future.”
A US Navy medical team is also heading to the area to help local doctors provide acute care, and is expected to arrive on Friday, just as hotels begin to receive patients, Hinojosa said.
NEW ORDER
The county health authority also issued an order Sunday, requiring residents who tested positive for COVID-19 to remain at their residence under a 14-day quarantine.
In these circumstances, residents are not allowed to leave their home without prior approval from the State Department of Health Services or Hidalgo County Health and Human Services; and visits are not allowed unless approved by state and county health officials.
These residents are also asked to monitor themselves for symptoms such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, or vomiting and to report it immediately to the county health and human services department by calling (956) 292-7765 between 8 am and 5 pm
The health authority’s order also asks residents who are positive for the virus to make a list of the people they have come into contact with starting two days before symptoms appear or are diagnosed.
According to this order, these residents can be released from isolation after 14 days of quarantine if they have passed at least three days without fever and without the use of fever-reducing medications, as well as improvement of respiratory symptoms such as cough and lack of air. breath in addition to at least 10 days after symptoms first appeared.
Failure to comply with the order, according to the county, can lead to criminal prosecution under the Texas Health and Safety Code or civil court proceedings.
STARR AND WILLACY COUNTIES
Elsewhere, in Starr County, the health authority, Dr. José Vázquez, confirmed 19 other new cases on Sunday morning.
Eleven cases are of Roma, with the remaining cases from the city of Río Grande.
They range in age from a one-year-old girl to a 76-year-old man.
For most cases, the circumstances surrounding how the individual contracted the virus are unknown. Six cases were exposed to the virus by contact with another positive case, while two cases were transmitted through community spread.
As of now, the total number of known positive cases in Starr County is 1,407.
Additionally, the county reported that 477 cases were recovered, and that 925 people recovered under medical care.
Starr County’s death toll remains five, with 32 fatalities pending state confirmation, according to authorities.
Cameron County does not report its COVID-19 statistics on Sundays.
In Willacy County, two more people tested positive, County Judge Aurelio “Keter” Guerra announced Sunday in a press release, bringing the total number of known cases to 473.
The two cases are children 10 years of age or younger.
Monitor writer Emily D’Gyves contributed to this report.
