Dallas County Reports 31 COVID-19 Deaths on Anniversary of First Virus Case in North Texas

Updated at 4:07 p.m .: Revised to include Denton County data.

Dallas County reported 31 more deaths from COVID-19 and 265 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday – a year after the first case of north Texas ‘presumptive positive’ illness was reported in Collin County.

As of March 9, 2020, more than 740,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have contracted COVID-19 and more than 8,300 have died from it.

All of the latest Dallas County victims were in their 50s or older, and none were known to have no underlying high-risk health issues. Twenty-one were men and 10 were women.

Fourteen of the victims were residents of Dallas, and three were each from Grand Prairie and Mesquite. Two were each from DeSoto and Garland, and one each lived in Balch Springs, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett and Seagoville.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement the daily number of new cases was dropping but the death toll remained “stubbornly high.”

Jenkins noted that deaths from COVID-19 are an indicator of disease leakage: “A lot of the deaths we are currently experiencing are from people who fell ill when the number of cases was very high.”

Of the new cases, 251 were confirmed and 14 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 284,775, of which 248,225 are confirmed and 36,550 probable. The death toll is 3,180.

Health officials are using hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and emergency room visits as key indicators to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period that ended Monday, 309 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in county hospitals – the lowest number in five months. During the same period, 318 emergency room visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 376,242 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 211,516 – 10.5% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Statewide, 5,313 more cases were reported on Tuesday, including 4,807 new cases and 506 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state has also reported 167 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its toll to 44,650.

Of the new cases, 3,744 were confirmed and 1,063 were probable. Of the older cases, 413 were confirmed and 93 were probable.

The state’s total cases now stand at 2,694,726, of which 2,326,885 are confirmed and 367,841 probable.

There are 4,702 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,041 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Monday, 6.5% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients – below the 15% threshold the state used to define high hospitalizations.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular testing, based on the date of sample collection, was 6.6% on Monday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 2.8%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test. Gov. Greg Abbott said a positivity rate above 10% was concerning.

According to the state, 4,529,070 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 2,463,005 – 11.0% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported seven deaths and 244 cases on Tuesday.

The latest victims were two residents of Arlington, a woman in her fifties and a man in her fifties; two women from Fort Worth in their 80s; a Keller woman in her 80s; a Richland Hills man in his thirties; and a man from Watauga over 90 years old. Six of them had underlying high-risk health conditions, officials said.

Of the new cases, 135 were confirmed and 109 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 245,629, of which 208,299 are confirmed and 37,330 probable. The death toll is 3,028.

According to the county, 342 people were hospitalized with the virus on Monday.

According to the state, 269,904 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 176,540 – 11.1% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added two deaths and 158 cases to the Collin County total on Tuesday.

No details on the latest casualties were available.

Of the new cases, 95 were confirmed and 63 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 84,309, with 70,619 confirmed and 13,690 probable. The death toll is 751.

According to the county, 193 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 169,456 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 103,098 – 12.8% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported six deaths and 460 cases on Tuesday.

Three of the latest victims were residents of Avanti Senior Living in Flower Mound: a man in his 60s and two women over 80. .

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total number of cases to 68,236, including 51,108 confirmed and 17,128 probable. The death toll is 431.

According to the county, 62 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 119,555 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 84,823 – 12.1% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated .

Other counties

The Texas Department of State Health Services have resumed reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some countries, new data may not be communicated every day.

The latest numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 10,772 cases (8,853 confirmed and 1,919 probable), 133 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 15,084 cases (12,799 confirmed and 2,285 probable), 225 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,407 cases (18,146 confirmed and 3,261 probable), 288 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,810 cases (16,190 confirmed and 2,620 probable), 338 deaths.