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Hidalgo County reports 23,000 backlogged positive cases of COVID-19

2 years 1 month 3 weeks ago Tuesday, February 01 2022 Feb 1, 2022 February 01, 2022 12:04 PM February 01, 2022 in News - Local

The Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department on Tuesday announced it has been notified about a backlog of 23,000 positive COVID-19 cases for the month of January.

Hidalgo County Health Department Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Olivarez said the cases had not been previously reported.

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“Given the extraordinary demand for COVID-19 testing immediately after the holidays, we suspected that there was a high probability of a reporting backlog. That suspicion has now been confirmed,” Olivarez said in a statement. “Testing vendors are responsible for submitting their own data to the state. We expect these data adjustments to continue over the next several weeks and encourage all COVID-19 test sites to be proactive in reporting results so we can provide a clear picture of COVID in our area.”

Last month, the county reported a backlog of more than 18,000 positive COVID cases between Dec. 23, 2021 and Jan. 10, 2022.

Tuesday’s announcement comes after the county reported 614 new cases of the disease, eight coronavirus-related deaths and 399 COVID hospitalizations.

The number of new backlogged cases diminishes in significance due to the amount of COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths, the release stated.

“Local hospitals are being taxed with patients who have postponed or delayed care due to non COVID-19 ailments,” the release stated.

The county encourages COVID positive individuals who are asymptomatic or displaying mild symptoms to contact their primary care provider before seeking care at a local hospital.

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