Dallas County reports 50 coronavirus deaths, matching its single-day record

Updated at 6:25 p.m .: Revised to include Dallas County numbers.

Dallas County reported 266 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, along with 50 more deaths from COVID-19.

The deaths were the most the county had reported in a single day; he also reported 50 on February 3.

The latest victims were mostly in their fifties and over, but two – both men from Dallas – were in their twenties. Three of the dead, two Dallas women in their 80s and a Garland man in their 80s, had no underlying high-risk health issues.

Twenty-three of the victims lived in Dallas, nine were from Grand Prairie, five were from Garland and four were from Lancaster. Three lived in Irving, two were from DeSoto and Mesquite, and one each lived in Coppell and Richardson.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that people should try to stay strong and help each other.

“At times like these, it can seem like there is no good news,” Jenkins said. But, he added, “We have seen a drop in the number of new COVID-19 infections, and most of our people have the power again.”

Of the new cases, 210 were confirmed and 56 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 276,049 – 242,094 confirmed and 33,955 probable. The death toll is 2,751.

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, 596 patients with COVID-19 were in acute care at county hospitals. During the same period, 373 emergency room visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 249,207 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 101,267 are fully vaccinated.

The county health department plans to resume immunizations at Fair Park on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., with a focus on the second injections. Injections will be given to people who were due for a second dose on or before February 12. People whose last name begins with the letters A to M should arrive between 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and people whose last name begins with N to Z should arrive between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The site will reopen from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and will provide second doses to people who were scheduled to receive them on or before February 13. People should arrive at around the same time of the day when they received their first dose.

Texas

Statewide, 3,131 more cases of coronavirus were reported on Thursday – 3,012 new cases and 119 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 97 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its toll to 40,814.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said notification of coronavirus data had been affected by the extreme weather and the numbers would remain “artificially low” until full notification resumes.

Of the new cases, 2,690 were confirmed and 322 were probable. Of the older cases, 99 were confirmed and 20 were probable.

The state’s total cases are now 2,574,194 – 2,234,506 confirmed and 339,688 probable.

There are 7,874 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 2,101 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Wednesday, 13.3% 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 10.3% on Wednesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 3.9%. 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 of over 10% was concerning.

According to the state, 3,031,894 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 1,258,473 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 18 deaths and 450 cases of coronavirus on Thursday.

All but two of the latter victims had high-risk underlying conditions. Seven were residents of Arlington and five lived in Fort Worth. Two were from Benbrook and one each lived in Grand Prairie, Haltom City, Kennedale and Pelican Bay.

Of the new cases, 424 were confirmed and 26 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 236,911 – 202,354 confirmed and 34,557 probable. The death toll is 2,689.

According to the county, 744 people were hospitalized with the virus on Wednesday.

According to the state, 174,788 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 91,985 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added one COVID-19 death and 170 coronavirus cases to the Collin County totals on Thursday.

No details on the last victim were available.

Of the new cases, 146 were confirmed and 24 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 80,947, with 68,545 confirmed and 12,402 probable. The death toll is 686.

According to the county’s latest update, 329 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 116,152 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 38,406 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County Public Health was closed Thursday due to the weather and did not release a coronavirus update.

The county last reported 60,167 total cases – 46,439 confirmed and 13,728 probable. The most recent toll is 382. According to the county’s latest update, 115 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 63,278 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 26,165 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: 10,274 cases (8,493 confirmed and 1,781 probable), 116 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 14,425 cases (12,380 confirmed and 2,045 probable), 208 deaths.
• Ellis County: 20,331 cases (17,677 confirmed and 2,654 probable), 267 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,149 cases (15,758 confirmed and 2,391 probable), 304 deaths.