El Paso County's COVID cases fall 17.7%; Texas cases plummet 31.9%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
July 2021 file photo of Ylianna Ungos getting her first shot of the Pfizer vaccine at William D. Slider Middle School in the Socorro ISD.
July 2021 file photo of Ylianna Ungos getting her first shot of the Pfizer vaccine at William D. Slider Middle School in the Socorro ISD.

Texas reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 25,081 new cases. That's down 31.9% from the previous week's tally of 36,856 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Texas ranked 39th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week, coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 0.6% from the week before, with 401,433 cases reported. With 8.71% of the country's population, Texas had 6.25% of the country's cases in the past week. Across the country, 17 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

John Hopkins University has been collecting data from Texas on an erratic schedule, skewing week-to-week comparisons.

El Paso County reported 339 cases and six deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 412 cases and four deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 238,026 cases and 3,807 deaths.

Across Texas, cases fell in 199 counties, with the best declines in Harris County, with 3,139 cases from 5,079 a week earlier; in Tarrant County, with 2,131 cases from 3,793; and in Dallas County, with 1,888 cases from 2,966. ​

More: See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Within Texas, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Loving County with 2,367 cases per 100,000 per week; Edwards County with 466; and Crosby County with 383. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Harris County, with 3,139 cases; Bexar County, with 2,353 cases; and Tarrant County, with 2,131. Weekly case counts rose in 35 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Hidalgo, Webb and Wichita counties.

In Texas, 151 ​ people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 144 people were reported dead.

A total of 7,974,235 people in Texas have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 90,790 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data show. In the United States, 96,070,980 people have tested positive and 1,056,416 people have died.

More: Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Texas's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Sept. 25. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 4,447

  • The week before that: 4,806

  • Four weeks ago: 5,213

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 55,707

  • The week before that: 55,506

  • Four weeks ago: 64,244

Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 20 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 25 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County reported 339 additional COVID-19 cases, 6 new deaths