Roxanna Miranda/The Rider Graphic
Though the pandemic reached its second year of existence in Texas last March, COVID-19 cases continue to be reported, both on campus and at the county level.
UTRGV reported 12 new COVID-19 cases between April 15 and 21, according to a university official.
Doug Arney, vice president for Administrative Support Services and chair of the Infectious Disease Committee at UTRGV, said the 12 consisted of eight students and four staff members.
Arney said one student was in on-campus isolation housing the week of April 8 through 14.
The university first reported two COVID-19 cases in June 2020. In 2020, UTRGV COVID-19 reports recorded an average of around 10 cases a week and in 2021, the university reported an average of around six cases a week.
So far, the university has reported an average of around 34 cases a week in 2022. This increase in weekly cases can be attributed to travel and events over the holidays, as previously reported in a Jan. 31 issue from The Rider.
Social activity and in-person gatherings over the holidays also play a possible role in the increase in numbers, said Esmeralda Guajardo, Cameron County health administrator, in a January 2022 interview with The Rider.
“[There are] a lot of barbecues, a lot of parties, people getting together,” Guajardo said. “So, anytime that happens, obviously, that’s going to increase the risk and increase the numbers.”
During the week of Jan. 14 to 20, 2022, university officials reported a campus high of 112 confirmed cases.
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, which date back to June 2020, on its website.
Since then, the university has reported a total of 1,170 confirmed cases through the dashboard.
Hidalgo and Cameron counties continue to report COVID-19 cases.
Hidalgo County reported 380 cases between April 25 and 28, raising its total to 199,591, according to its website. The April 25 report includes numbers from April 23 and 24.
The county reported two deaths between April 25 and 28, raising its death toll to 3,900.
Case reports, news releases and other COVID-19-related information has been made available through the Hidalgo County COVID-19 webpage since its creation March 2, 2020.
On June 14 of that year, the county surpassed the 1,000 mark for positive COVID-19 cases and around two months later, on Aug. 24, 2020, the county surpassed the 25,000 mark, according to its website.
The first community COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Hidalgo County, targeting health care workers and the elderly, opened Jan. 5, 2021, on a first-come, first-served basis.
As of last Wednesday, 964,043 people in Hidalgo County were vaccinated with at least one dose, and 677,682 were fully vaccinated.
Cameron County reported 80 cases between April 22 and 27, raising its total to 73,651, according to its website.
The county reported one death between April 22 and 27, raising its death toll to 2,231.
COVID-19 updates are made available on the Cameron County Public Health website, which has been providing information and reports since March 4, 2020.
In an April 27 daily COVID-19 report, county officials said that vaccination efforts within Cameron County communities continue.
As of last Thursday, 86.81% of the population 5 years and older in Cameron County is fully vaccinated and 99.99% has received at least one dose.
For more information, see the Texas Vaccine Data Dashboard on the Texas Department of State Health Services website at dshs.texas.gov.
Individuals may call the Cameron County hotline at 247-3650 for more information about vaccination sites and services.
