Now, weeks later, she wears a necklace with his ashes.
"He meant the world," Jessica, who is from Hidalgo County in South Texas, said, remembering her 27-year-old brother. "I just wish it wasn't him."
Health experts say there's no evidence that bodies are contagious after death, but the moment speaks to the fear and concern in Hidalgo County, where health officials say Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on communities. Hospitals started reaching capacity earlier this month in the Rio Grande Valley, which has become the main hotspot in Texas.
"It's a tsunami what we're seeing right now," said Dr. Federico Vallejo, a critical care pulmonologist. Vallejo said he's treating nearly 50 to 60 patients a day. Sometimes he takes care of 70. Normally, a critical care doctor sees about 15 to 20 patients during a rotation for a critical care doctor, according to Vallejo.
Vallejo said walking through the hallways at the hospital is a "massive shock," and he worries about the mental health of his colleagues who are overwhelmed with the sheer number of patients. "It's not easy to handle something like this."
The situation has grown so dire that Hidalgo County officials threatened this week to criminally prosecute people who don't quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a shelter-at-home order for all residents starting Wednesday.
The order includes a curfew, travel limitations and facial covering requirements and comes as the county's hospitals have hit capacity, Cortez said.
"Please stay in compliance and protect yourself and your loved ones by following these important steps," Hidalgo County officials tweeted on Tuesday. "Failure to comply could result in criminal prosecution."
The state's response
The state of Texas has identified 351,071 Covid-19 cases, and 4,199 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University data. On Monday, Hidalgo County reported 34 new deaths due to Covid-19 complications, and 524 new cases.
Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine said Southern states like Texas and Florida are seeing increased deaths because "the hospitals are overwhelmed."
"We had 34 deaths in the last 24 hours in not a very large county, so South Texas is just getting hit incredibly hard," Hotez said Tuesday on CNN.
Texas was one of the first states to reopen in May after Gov. Greg Abbott ended the state's stay-at-home order and allowed businesses such as retail stores, malls, restaurants and theaters to reopen that day at limited capacity.
In late June, Abbott announced he was pausing any further phases to reopen the state as cases surged.
While Abbott implemented a mask requirement for nearly all Texans in early July, he has kept in place a ban on local officials from issuing stay-at-home orders, despite increasing pressure from leaders of major areas like Houston and Dallas.
In an interview Tuesday night with CNN affiliate KRGV in McAllen, Abbott acknowledged the
