Texas Coronavirus Cases Surpass 54K; Deaths Reach 1,500

Megan VerHelst
·2 min read

AUSTIN, TX — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Texas increased by 1,060 Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 54,509. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services also reported 26 new deaths.

To date, 1,506 Texans have died from coronavirus-related illnesses.

On Friday, the number of additional cases of the respiratory illness rose by 1,181,bringing the total count to 53,449. On that day, 40 additional more patients died from illnesses linked to the virus.

Coronavirus-related illnesses in Texas are reported on a dashboard that is updated daily.

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According to the dashboard, 870,935 total tests have been administered in the state. For the third day since implementing the change, health officials reported the number of antibody tests given — tests that detect those who were previously been infected but have since recovered. On Saturday, the number of antibody tests numbered 71,731.

The highest rates of illness as of Saturday were in the following counties:

  • Harris County: 10,526 cases

  • Dallas County: 8,477 cases

  • Tarrant County: 4,899 cases

  • Travis County: 2,761 cases

  • Bexar County: 2,392 cases

  • El Paso County: 2,265 cases

  • Potter County: 2,229 cases

  • Fort Bend County: 1,661 cases

  • Denton County: 1,205 cases

  • Collin County: 1,132 cases

This week's cases come during a week of more business reopenings decreed by Gov. Greg Abbott via executive orders as he seeks to reignite a state economy stalled by the illness spread.

Several businesses were allowed to reopen this week and a myriad of activities were allowed to resume, with more reopenings planned through month's end.

This article originally appeared on the Austin Patch