For third week in a row, Dallas County sets record for COVID-19 deaths, but number of cases declines

Dallas County reported 1,424 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, as well as 42 more deaths from COVID-19 – making it the county’s deadliest week in the pandemic to date.

The latest victims were mostly in their 50s to 90s, but a Dallas man in his 30s has also died. Nineteen of the victims were residents of Dallas, four were from Richardson and three each lived in Grand Prairie, Irving and Lancaster. Two each lived in Garland, Mesquite and Rowlett, and one each was from Carrollton, Coppell, DeSoto and Sunnyvale.

Three of the victims – a Grand Prairie woman in her 60s, a Richardson woman in the 80th, and a Dallas woman in the 90th – were known to have no underlying high-risk health issues.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement officials knew January and February would be “difficult months” due to the high number of cases and holiday gatherings in the previous months.

“The good news is that these case numbers are decreasing, hospitalizations are decreasing and we are vaccinating thousands more North Texans every day,” Jenkins said.

Of the new cases, 1,153 were confirmed and 271 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 265,311 – 233,353 confirmed and 31,958 probable. The death toll is 2,397.

In the first six days of the week, Dallas County reported 218 deaths, after reporting 183 all the previous week. That total eclipsed a record 138 the week before.

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 Thursday, 832 patients with COVID-19 were in acute care at county hospitals. During the same period, 444 emergency room visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to state data, 175,402 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 46,388 are fully vaccinated.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said on Friday the city would receive 5,000 doses of Moderna vaccine to be distributed next week by appointment only.

Texas

Statewide, an additional 14,556 cases were reported on Friday – 13,951 new cases and 605 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 401 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its toll to 38,128.

Of the new cases, 10,410 were confirmed and 3,541 were probable. Of the older cases, 411 were confirmed and 194 were probable.

The newly reported cases bring the state total to 2,462,886 – 2,143,353 confirmed and 319,533 probable.

There were 10,259 patients with COVID-19 in Texas hospitals, including 2,737 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Thursday, 16.0% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients – above the 15% threshold used by the state to define high hospitalizations.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular testing, based on the date the samples were collected, was 13.2% on Thursday. For antigenic tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 5.8%. 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 of over 10% was concerning.

According to state data, 2,214,644 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 668,743 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 1,394 coronavirus cases and 81 deaths on Friday.

Most of the victims were in their sixties and over. Thirty-four were residents of Fort Worth and 13 lived in Arlington. Four were from Watauga, three each lived in Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Saginaw. Two were each from Crowley, Lake Worth and White Settlement, one each lived in Azle, Bedford, Colleyville, Grand Prairie, Hurst, Mansfield and Sansom Park, and five were from unincorporated areas. All 81 had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Tarrant County has reported higher death rates on Fridays due to when the state provides data on death certificates.

Of the new cases, 1,201 were confirmed and 193 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 226,793 – 193,869 confirmed and 32,924 probable. The death toll is 2,387.

According to the county, 967 people were hospitalized with the virus on Thursday.

According to the state, 122,829 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 32,956 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added 615 coronavirus cases and 10 Collin County total deaths on Friday.

No details on the latest casualties were available.

Of the new cases, 439 were confirmed and 176 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 76,091 – 64,872 confirmed and 11,219 probable. The death toll is 618.

According to the county, 405 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 68,545 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 19,856 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 483 cases of coronavirus on Friday. No additional deaths were reported.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total number of cases to 56,303 – 44,054 confirmed and 12,249 probable. The death toll is 344.

According to the county, 184 people have been hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 34,867 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 11,728 are fully vaccinated.

The Denton County Public Health Vaccination Center at Texas Motor Speedway continued to vaccinate thousands of people on Friday. Authorities were aiming to administer 31,500 doses over three days this week. After cancellations and no-shows, the county administered 9,100 doses on Tuesday and 9,000 on Thursday and was on track to distribute the same amount on Friday afternoon.

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: 9,774 cases (8,101 confirmed and 1,673 probable), 107 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 13,585 cases (11,764 confirmed and 1,821 probable), 187 deaths.
• Ellis County: 19,356 cases (16,913 confirmed and 2,443 probable), 247 deaths.
• Johnson County: 17,250 cases (15,105 confirmed and 2,145 probable), 288 deaths.

Writer Charles Scudder contributed to this report.