Terrible news for Texas. As noted herein, this is very likely an undercount. I have a lot of family from Hidalgo and Cameron County which are largely made up of a lot of small towns and communities, overwhelmingly low income. Tragic story after tragic story coming out of there every single day. This is what happens when we have no national plan and terrible leadership, generally.
-Angela Valenzuela
Texas coronavirus death toll tops 10,000
by Nicole Cobler | 8.17.2020 Austin American-Statesman
Texas surpassed 10,000 coronavirus deaths Monday, a staggering figure health experts say likely undercounts the actual death toll of the virus in the Lone Star state.
Only New York City, New Jersey and California rank above Texas in total COVID-19 deaths.
“It’s a tough milestone, but I’m glad to see the state making progress in many areas,” Dr. Mark McClellan, one of the Gov. Greg Abbott’s medical advisers on reopening the state’s economy, told the American-Statesman on Monday. “There’s still a long way to go, though.”
He added that the state should increase access to COVID-19 testing and work to further decrease new cases to help health care professionals manage the virus.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 51 new COVID-19 fatalities Monday, bringing the death toll of the virus to 10,034. The latest deaths likely occurred over the past week or more because of a new method by the health agency for collecting death data.
The state’s largest counties — Harris, Bexar and Dallas — remain the hardest hit for COVID-19 fatalities, with two smaller Rio Grande Valley counties following closely behind.
The health agency reported 809 COVID-19 deaths for Hidalgo County and 565 deaths for Cameron County.
The South Texas area became a hot spot for the coronavirus last month, overwhelming hospitals and leading local leaders to issue their own stay-at-home orders. Abbott declined to allow local leaders to enforce the stay-at-home orders, however, instead urging them to enforce statewide orders on masks, restaurant occupancy limits and outdoor gatherings.
“I’m still very concerned about the significant outbreaks in some parts of the state, especially in the Rio Grande Valley,” McClellan said.
Toll likely higher
But when comparing coronavirus fatalities by population, Texas ranks roughly 22nd among U.S. states and territories, with 35 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McClellan said the Texas death rate has declined since the beginning of the pandemic, likely because those testing positive have skewed younger and more healthy during the summer compared to the spring, while COVID-19 treatments have improved.
“On the other hand, it’s hard for hospitals and health care systems to maintain this high level of intensity treatment for a long period,” he said. “It’s good that the death rate is (lower), but we need to make more progress on getting cases down to keep the deaths from continuing to rise.”
In Texas and across the country, health experts warn that the total number of COVID-19 deaths is likely higher than reported figures show.
A New York Times analysis of CDC data found that the total number of COVID-19 deaths across the country has surpassed 200,000, higher than health officials have reported.
A similar study published by JAMA Internal Medicine came to the same conclusion. Researchers compared deaths from the same period last year to the number of excess U.S. deaths from any causes with the number of weekly COVID-19 deaths across the country.
And the death toll in Texas quickly increased after state health officials changed their methodology for counting COVID-19 deaths, using death certificates instead of reports from the local health officials.
READ MORE: How Texas tracks the virus’s toll
The Texas Department of State Health Services said the move provides a more accurate picture of the disease’s human toll, although it lags slightly because it takes up to 10 days after a person dies to receive a death certificate.
Promising signs
There are some promising signs that the disease is slowing in Texas, which Gov. Greg Abbott has attributed to his mask order and more residents following social distancing guidelines.
Hospitalizations and new cases have trended downward in recent weeks.
On Monday, state health officials reported 6,200 coronavirus patients in Texas hospitals, the fewest since the end of June.
And the health agency reported 2,713 new cases Monday. Although that number is often lower after the weekend, the seven-day average of new cases has declined since its peak in mid-July.
Democrats criticized Abbott as the state reached 10,000 deaths Monday, blaming the rising death toll on the governor’s response to the coronavirus.
“Under Abbott’s failed leadership, mismanagement of the pandemic, hoarding federal aid, and misinformation, the state has seen its highest death toll related to a disaster, which continues to climb,” Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic party, said in a statement.
A spokesman for Abbott did not return a request for comment Monday.
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