Texas becomes first state to surpass 1 million COVID-19 cases



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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas has become the first US state with more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 as the country continues to face a wave of infections, according to data from the University Johns Hopkins early Wednesday.

The nation’s second most populous state has recorded 1,010,364 coronavirus cases with 19,337 deaths since the pandemic began in early March, according to the tally posted on the Johns Hopkins website.

Texas recently overtook California, the most populous state, with the most positive coronavirus tests. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people have not been tested and studies suggest that people may be infected and not feel sick.

Texas recorded 10865 Tuesday, setting a new daily record that surpassed a previous record set on July 15 by 74 cases, state officials said. According to state figures Tuesday, an estimated 132,146 cases are active, the most since Aug. 17, and 6,170 COVID-19 cases are hospitalized, the most since Aug. 18.

There were 94 new deaths on Tuesday, according to the Texas State Department Health Services.

Meanwhile, cases of the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 are increasing in the Laredo region as border areas remained a hotbed of COVID-19 on Tuesday, health officials said.

Laredo health officials reported 331 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, the most since the peak of 374 cases on August 10. This brings the number of pandemic cases in the region to 16,558 since the start of March. Of these, 934 cases are active, the most in two months, and 73 require hospitalization. A new death was reported on Tuesday, bringing the city’s COVID-19 death toll to 367.

The outbreak comes as El Paso, another border town, grapples with a recent tsunami of cases. As of Tuesday, 1,292 more cases were reported in El Paso County, bringing its pandemic count to 65,651 with 27,895 currently active cases and 1,076 requiring hospitalization. Nine new deaths brought the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 682.

The highest counts come amid intensive testing in both places and statewide.

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