Roxanna Miranda/ The Rider Graphic
UTRGV reported 52 new COVID-19 cases between Jan. 21 and 27, 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 52 were 10 students, 40 staff and two faculty members.
The new case figure is 60 fewer than what was reported for the week of Jan. 14 to 20, according to the UTRGV Confirmed Cases Dashboard.
UTRGV updates the number of cases reported for campus individuals weekly through the dashboard. The university COVID-19 Response Team provides the numbers on the website.
Arney said three of the 10 students were quarantined in on-campus isolation housing the week of Jan. 21 to 27.
Social distancing is not currently being enforced on campus and spaces have returned to full capacity, according to UTRGV policies and processes.
To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the university is encouraging the campus community to get vaccinated and boosted, and to wear face coverings, especially indoors.
To receive a booster shot, members of the university community can request an appointment via the UTRGV Vaccine Portal or call UT Health RGV Student Health locations at 665-2511 for Edinburg and 882-3896 for Brownsville.
For instructions on how to make an appointment at a campus location, visit utrgv.edu/vaccine.
For information and updates about future pop-up booster events, go to link.utrgv.edu/booster-incentive.
In Hidalgo and Cameron counties, COVID-19 cases continue to increase.
Hidalgo County reported an additional 2,499 cases between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2, according to its website. Last Thursday, the county also reported an additional 23,736 cases, including backlogged cases, raising its total to 156,483.
Carlos Sanchez, Hidalgo County public affairs division director, said once cases are confirmed, it is not possible to distinguish backlogged cases from recent cases.
The Rider called Eduardo Olivarez, chief administrative officer for Hidalgo County’s Health and Human Services department. As of press time, Olivarez had not returned the call.
Hidalgo County reported 39 additional deaths between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3, raising its death toll to 3,639.
Cameron County reported an additional 5,137 cases between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, raising its total to 69,293 cases.
The county reported 17 additional deaths between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, raising the county’s death toll to 2,083.
