Texas has become the first U.S. state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as the nation continues to face a surge of infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University early Wednesday.
The nation’s second-most populous state has recorded 1,010,364 coronavirus cases with 19,337 deaths since the pandemic began in early March, according to the count on the Johns Hopkins website.
Having 1 million cases of the virus puts Texas ahead of many nations, including Italy, Mexico, Peru, South Africa and Germany, according to Johns Hopkins.
Data released by the Texas Department of State Health Services on Tuesday showed the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Texas was still a little below the Johns Hopkins count at 974,230. DSHS reporting is typically a day or so behind reports released by county health departments, which may account for some of the discrepancy in the numbers being reported.
Texas recorded 10,865 cases on Tuesday, setting a new daily record that surpassed by 74 cases an old mark set July 15, state officials said.
The number of cases in the Lone Star State puts Texas at about 10% of the U.S. total and at about 2% of the world total. In North Texas, both Dallas and Tarrant counties eclipsed grim milestones within the last week topping 100,000 and 75,000 cases, respectively. In the U.S., Dallas County is ranked 6th in the nation for COVID-19 cases while Tarrant is 11th, according to Johns Hopkins data.
According to state figures on Tuesday, an estimated 132,146 cases are active, the most since Aug. 17, and 6,170 COVID-19 cases are hospitalized, the most since Aug. 18. There were 94 new deaths Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Texas had recently surpassed California, the most populous state, in recording the highest number of positive coronavirus tests. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
Meanwhile, cases of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are surging in the Laredo area as the borderlands remained a COVID-19 hotbed Tuesday, health officials said.
Laredo health officials reported 331 new cases Tuesday of the coronavirus, the most since the Aug. 10 peak of 374 cases. That brought the area’s case count for the pandemic since the beginning of March to 16,558. Of those, 934 cases are active, the most in two months, and 73 require hospitalization. One new death was reported Tuesday, bringing the city’s COVID-19 death toll to 367.
The surge comes as El Paso, another border city, grapples with a recent tsunami of cases. Another 1,292 cases were reported in El Paso County on Tuesday, bringing its pandemic count to 65,651 with 27,895 cases now active and 1,076 requiring hospitalization. Nine new deaths brought the county’s COVID-19 death toll to 682.
The higher counts come amid intensive testing in both places and statewide.
COVID-19 Resources
Coronavirus Cases in Texas
Locations on the map are approximate county locations and are not intended to identify where any infected people live.
Case data was pulled from a variety of sources including county health departments and the Texas Department of State Health Services.
