Texas virus death toll rises above 25,000

Updated: Dec 20, 2020 / 07:04 AM EST

HOUSTON, TX – DECEMBER 14: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) A medical staff member Tiffany Price adjusts a ventilator circuit on a patient in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) at the United Memorial Medical Center on December 14, 2020 in Houston, Texas. According to reports, Texas has reached over 1,480,000 cases, including over 24,500 deaths. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas on Saturday surpassed 25,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, the second-highest total in the country.

State health officials reported 272 new deaths due to COVID-19, bringing Texas’ death toll to 25,226.

Cases of COVID-19 and virus-related hospitalizations continue to rise in the state. On Saturday, the state reported 9,796 people hospitalized with the virus, an increase of nearly 23% over the last month.

Officials reported 12,914 new cases on Saturday. That comes two days after the state set its one-day record of new cases — 16,864 — on Thursday.

The increase in cases and hospitalizations comes as state health officials announced Friday that Texas will receive 620,000 more doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the next week. More than 224,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine have already been delivered in Texas.

Thus far, California has the highest death toll in the country.