After months of being categorized as an area of “low-risk” for COVID-19 transmission, one Valley county is now seeing high levels of transmission of the virus.

On Friday, the COVID-19 community level map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated Hidalgo County as an area with high levels of COVID-19 transmission.

The county is the only area in Texas with the designation. 

On Tuesday, the county was designated as an area of low COVID transmission levels.

Cameron and Starr counties also went from a low level area of COVID transmission to a “medium” level of transmission this week.

On Friday, the county reported 495 new cases of the disease and 1,394 active cases and 37 COVID-related hospitalizations.

Of those 37, six patients are in the ICU.

All of these factors contributed to the county's high community level.

“It’s certainly something to not be proud of that we are the only county today that is reporting [the high levels of transmission] in the state of Texas," Hidalgo County Health Authority Dr. Ivan Melendez said. “Vaccinations still are keeping people from ending up in the hospital and dying, but they're not as effective from keeping people from getting infected.”

The Valley has a high COVID vaccination rate, as 86% of the eligible population 5 and older is fully vaccinated.