Daily COVID-19 Deaths per Million Residents
The two southernmost counties in Texas, Hidalgo and Cameron, are home to a population of 1.3 million. Both counties are defined as MSAs by the OMB under the names of McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission (Hidalgo County) and Brownsville-Harlingen (Cameron County).
Population in the area is 90% Hispanic and has close family and business ties to Mexican cities across the border such as Reynosa and Matamoros that house 1.4 million individuals.
Out of Texas’ 254 counties, poverty rates in Hidalgo and Cameron rank among the highest (29.3% vs. a statewide rate of 14.9%) and the region is a COVID-19 disaster.
What is happening on the northern bank of the Rio Grande does not bode well for the city of Monterrey (population 4.7 million), which is only 137 miles away and actively linked to the border for logistical and health service reasons.