Over 7,500 Coronavirus Cases In Texas Friday; 50 Deaths

Over 7,500 cases of the coronavirus were reported in Texas Friday and 50 patients died from the illness, according to the latest numbers from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

On Friday, 7,555 cases of the illness were confirmed, marking the fourth straight day the state has seen nearly or above 7,000 cases, as officials have scaled back on some reopenings and a new statewide mask order went into effect on Friday to curb the spread of the disease amid the spikes.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Thursday, requiring all Texans to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth in public spaces in counties that had at least 20 or more positive cases of the coronavirus.

The number of new cases is below the all-time high in daily cases reported in Texas on Wednesday, when just over 8,000 cases of the illness were confirmed.

Overall, 183,532 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Texas and 2,575 deaths have been linked to the virus.

Harris, Dallas and Tarrant counties lead the state with the most number of confirmed cases.

As of Thursday, the positive test rate in Texas was nearly 14 percent. Also, as of Friday, over 7,600 Texans are hospitalized with the virus.