City of Eagle Pass, Texas Ranked No. 1 Metro Area in the United States with Greatest Number of COVID-19 New Cases, Says New York Times
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2020
In a published article entitled “Monitoring the Coronavirus Outbreak in Metro Areas Across the U.S.” published by the New York Times on August 29, 2020, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas has been ranked as being No. 1 in the United States in two categories of the COVID-19 pandemic, first, for the metro area with the greatest number of new cases relative to its population during the last two weeks, and, secondly, for the metro area where cases are rising the fastest on a population-adjusted basis.
In a third category for the metro areas that have had the highest cumulative of confirmed case rates since the start of the COVID-19 Outbreak, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas is listed as being No. 4 in the United States.
The New York Times compiled COVID-19 data in the United States since the start of the pandemic and evaluates it daily to determine four categories in the United States: 1) The Big Picture: New Cases and Deaths, which looks at how many new cases and deaths are reported in a given area each day; 2) Where the Outbreak is Worst Now, which examines the metro areas with the greatest new cases, relative to their population, in the last two weeks; 3) Where There May Be Bad News Ahead, which reviews the metro areas where new cases are rising the fastest, on a population-adjusted basis; and 4) The Places Hit Hardest, which analyzes the metro areas that have had the highest cumulative case rates since the start of the outbreak.
In Categories Nos. 2 and 3, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas, the county seat of Maverick County on the U.S.-Mexico border, is listed as No. 1 in both categories in the entire United States. In Category No. 4, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas is listed as being No. 4 in the United States. Incredibly, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas is ranked in the top four in the country in three of the four categories.
In Category No. 2 Where the Outbreak Is Worst Now, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas is ranked No. 1 in the United States for metro areas with the greatest new number of cases relative to their population in the last two weeks with a total of 11.3 new confirmed COVID-19 cases per 1,000 population, followed at No. 2 by Ames, Iowa with 7.1 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 3 Milledgville, Georgia with 6.7 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 4 Iowa City, Iowa with 6.3 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 5 Auburn-Opelika, Alabama with 6.2 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 6 Macon-Bibb County, Georgia with 5.0 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 7 Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas with 4.9 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 8 Ontario, Oregon with 4.7 new cases per 1,000 population, No. 9 Farmington, Missouri with 4.4 new cases per 1,000 population, and No. 10 Pullman, New York with 4.4 new cases per 1,000 population. The City of Eagle Pass, Texas is significantly higher by 4.2 new cases greater per 1,000 population than No. 2 Ames, Iowa.
In Category No. 3 Where There May Be Bad News Ahead, the City of Eagle Pass is ranked No. 1 in the United States for where cases are rising the fastest on a population-adjusted basis with an increase of 1,127 percent change from the previous week compared to No. 2 Iowa City, Iowa 507 percent change, No. 3 Auburn-Opelika, Alabama with 461 percent change, No. 4 Milledgeville, Georgia with 435 percent change, No. 5 Pullman, Washington with 415 percent change, No. 6 Ames, Iowa with 378 percent change, No. 7 Lawrence, Kansas with 276 percent change, No. 8 Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas with 265 percent change, No. 9 Macon-Bibb County, Georgia with 257 change, and Greenville, North Carolina with 248 percent change. The City of Eagle Pass, Texas has a whopping 620 percent greater change than the No. 2 Iowa City, Iowa.
In Category No. 4 The Places Hit Hardest, the City of Eagle Pass, Texas is ranked No. 4 in the United States for the metro areas that have had the highest cumulative case rates since the start of the COVID-19 Outbreak as No. 1 El Centro, California has 58.9 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 2 Gallup, New Mexico has 58.5 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 3 Yuma, Arizona has 57.1 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 4 Eagle Pass, Texas has 55.5 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 5 Show Low, Arizona has 50.4 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 6 Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas has 49.3 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 7 Rio Grande City, Texas has 49.3 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 8 Lake City, Florida has 46.5 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, No. 9 Yakima, Washington has 46.4 cumulative cases per 1,000 population, and No. 10 Marion, Ohio has 46.1 cumulative cases per 1,000.
The City of Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas has a population of 58,722 in its metro area, according to the U.S. Census. Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas is 95.1% Hispanic, 27.7% are uninsured, 25.9% are in poverty, the median household income is $38,035 per year, the per capita income in the past 12 months is $16,891, only has one hospital in the community with 101 beds, and is on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the U.S. Census.
As of August 28, 2020, the Eagle Pass and Maverick County Emergency Operations Center reported a total of 15,521 people in the county having been administered a COVID-19 test with 3,293 confirmed positive results, 11,946 negative results, 282 pending test results, 539 active cases, 2,667 recovered people, 87 fatalities due to COVID-19, 33 current hospitalized patients, and a very high positivity rate of 21.6% since the COVID-19 Outbreak began.
