Dallas County Reports 20 Coronavirus Deaths, 296 Cases; Tarrant County adds 9 deaths

Updated at 5:47 p.m.: Revised to include statewide data.

Dallas County on Thursday reported 20 more deaths from COVID-19 and 296 new cases of coronavirus.

The latest victims were mostly in their 60s or older, but also included a female Irving in her 30s who was found dead in her home. Seven were men and 13 were women, and all 20 had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Nine of the victims were residents of Dallas, four lived in Irving, two were from DeSoto and Grand Prairie, and one each lived in Carrollton, Garland and Mesquite.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement there was reason to be optimistic about the direction of the pandemic, including the downward trend in coronavirus hospitalizations and the Parkland Memorial Hospital shutting down its COVID-19 units.

“The death toll remains stubbornly high, but I hope that as more people get vaccinated and the number of daily cases continues to drop, we will see those numbers improve,” Jenkins said.

Of the new cases, 146 were confirmed and 150 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 289,494, of which 251,360 are confirmed and 38,134 probable. The death toll is 3,454.

The average number of daily new cases in the county over the past two weeks is 272. For the previous 14-day period, the average was 470.

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 Wednesday, 189 patients with COVID-19 were in acute care at county hospitals. During the same period, 363 emergency room visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 545,620 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 281,907 – 14.0% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated .

Texas

Statewide, 3,234 more cases were reported as of Thursday, including 2,955 new cases and 279 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 132 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its toll to 46,868.

Of the new cases, 2,167 were confirmed and 788 were probable. Of the oldest cases, 170 were confirmed and 109 were probable.

The state’s total number of cases is now 2,759,866, of which 2,377,275 are confirmed and 382,591 probable.

There are 3,410 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 718 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Wednesday, 4.4% 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 the samples were collected, was 5.7% on Wednesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 3.2%. 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, 6,595,986 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 3,345,895 – 14.9% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported nine deaths and 142 cases on Thursday.

The latest victims were four women from Fort Worth, one in her sixties and three in her eighties; an Arlington man in his thirties; a Bedford woman over 90; a man of the vineyard in his 80s; a woman from Southlake in her forties; and a Watauga woman in her 70s. All had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Of the new cases, 83 were confirmed and 59 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 249,821, including 211,133 confirmed and 38,688 probable. The death toll is 3,240.

According to the county, 208 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 392,991 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 217,298 – 13.6% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added one death and 77 cases to the Collin County totals on Thursday.

No details on the last victim were available.

Of the new cases, 56 were confirmed and 21 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 85,893, of which 71,570 are confirmed and 14,323 probable. The death toll is 786.

According to the county, 138 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 260,518 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 133,549 – 16.6% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 74 cases on Thursday. No additional deaths were reported.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total number of cases to 71,388, with 53,054 confirmed and 18,334 probable. The death toll is 462.

According to the county, 34 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 181,295 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 103,166 – 14.7% 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: 11,001 cases (8,995 confirmed and 2,006 probable), 147 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 15,389 cases (12,975 confirmed and 2,414 probable), 234 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,729 cases (18,362 confirmed and 3,367 probable), 302 deaths.
• Johnson County: 19,186 cases (16,435 confirmed and 2,751 probable), 357 deaths.