Healthcare workers at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
Texas has surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, Johns Hopkins University data shows.
Why it matters: Texas is the first U.S. state to pass the milestone. It has the 10th most cases in the world, reporting 1,010,364 infections by early Wednesday — more than Italy, which has confirmed 995,463 cases, per JHU.
For the record: Over 19,300 people have died from the virus in the state.
- El Paso is an epicenter, with over 65,600 cases and 682 deaths from COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, per local health data. The Defense Department last week deployed medical teams to the Texas city to help out.
- Dallas County is another hot spot, with some 21% of all emergency department visits being related to COVID-19 as of Monday night. County judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Tuesday that the 1,401 new cases marked the "largest we have ever seen other than days when large backlogs were recorded."
What they're saying: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said in a statement officials had "prepared allocation plans to swiftly distribute medicines and vaccines that are now becoming available to treat COVID-19."
The big picture: Coronavirus cases are spiking across the country. The U.S. surpassed 10 million confirmed infections on Monday.
- The U.S. hit a record-high 130,989 new cases on Tuesday, as the number of people hospitalized with the virus in the U.S. reached a peak of 61,964.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.