Roxanna Miranda/The Rider Graphic
UTRGV reported 26 new COVID-19 cases between Feb. 11 and 17, according to a university official.
Doug Arney, vice president for Administrative Support Services and chair of the Infectious Disease Committee at UTRGV, said among the 26 were 11 students, 10 staff and five faculty members.
UTRGV updates the number of cases reported for campus individuals weekly through the Confirmed Cases Dashboard. The university COVID-19 Response Team provides the numbers on its website.
Arney said four of the 11 students were in on-campus isolation housing the week of Feb. 11 to 17.
In an email sent Feb. 21, the university announced both UT Health RGV Student Health clinics will continue to provide COVID-19 tests, vaccines and boosters to active UTRGV students.
COVID-19 services will be available from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at both Student Health clinics, located in Cortez Hall on the Brownsville campus and at 613 N. Sugar Road in Edinburg.
Services will also be available from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday at both locations.
To schedule an appointment for a test or COVID-19 vaccine, students must call 882-3896 for Brownsville and 665-2511 for Edinburg.
In Hidalgo and Cameron counties, COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
Hidalgo County reported 2,176 cases between Feb. 18 and 24, raising its total to 164,423, according to its website. The county reported no cases Feb. 21, as offices closed in observance of President’s Day.
The county reported 42 deaths between Feb. 18 and 24, raising its death toll to 3,783.
The Edinburg Municipal Park COVID-19 testing site, located at 714 S. Raul Longoria Road will remain open through next Monday, according to Hidalgo County officials.
The federal partnership for the site ended Feb. 21, but testing will continue in a new partnership with the state beginning last Tuesday and will continue through March 7.
The site will continue to provide free testing services to all residents of the Rio Grande Valley from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. There is no age limit for who may receive a test. Children must be accompanied by a parent.
Individuals may register for a test onsite, but officials encourage pre-registration online.
The site will now administer saliva-based PCR tests. Individuals must not eat, drink or use mouthwash or
tobacco within 30 minutes of testing.
To pre-register, visit docshealthtesting.com.
Cameron County reported 872 cases between Feb. 17 and 23, raising its total to 72,609 cases, according to its website. The county reported no cases Feb. 21, as offices closed in observance of President’s Day.
The county reported 36 deaths between Feb. 17 and 23, raising the county’s death toll to 2,162.
As of last Thursday, 84.16% of Cameron County residents age 5 and older were fully vaccinated, and 99.99% were partially vaccinated, according to the county’s website. For updates about county vaccination rates, visit dshs.texas.gov.
The Rider reached out to Bernardino Palacios, Texas Emergency Medical Task Force 11 District Coordinator, to discuss county hospitalization rates. As of press time, Friday, Palacios had not returned any messages.
