The four-county region has 6,000 deaths from COVID-19; winter conditions change vaccination and screening schedules

Dallas County on Wednesday reported 1,231 new coronavirus cases and 37 more deaths from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant County quartet added 81 dead on Wednesday, bringing their collective death toll to more than 6,000 – or 6,056.

Dallas County’s latest casualties included 25 men and 13 women between the ages of 20 and 90. They included 15 from Dallas, eight from Garland, four each from Irving and Rowlett, two from DeSoto, and one from Coppell, Lancaster, Mesquite and Wylie.

Nine victims were living in long-term care facilities. Five victims, including a Dallas man in his twenties, had no underlying health issues.

On Wednesday – and for the first time since November – COVID-19 hospitalizations for the hospital region that includes Dallas-Fort Worth fell below the 15% threshold that Governor Greg Abbott used to define high hospitalizations, according to the ‘State.

The state reported that 12.59% of patients in the D-FW hospital region were being treated for COVID-19. There are 9,165 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 2,491 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

D-FW reduced its indoor commercial capacity in December after reporting more than 15% of COVID-19 hospitalizations for a week, which resulted in a reduction in the indoor commercial capacity of that area. According to the governor’s decree of October 7, the rate must fall below 15% for a week before trade capacity can increase again.

In a written statement, County Judge Clay Jenkins thanked the Biden administration for choosing Fair Park as the federal site for mass vaccination, effective the week of February 22. The federal government will expand the county’s vaccination efforts to Fair Park and open a similar center at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Of the new cases, 1,018 were confirmed and 213 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 270,796, with 237,943 confirmed and 32,853 probable. The death toll is 2,519.

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 Tuesday, 761 patients with COVID-19 were in acute care at county hospitals. During the same period, 575 emergency room visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 214,320 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 66,942 are fully vaccinated.

Site closures

Several health departments and health providers in North Texas County said they would close or delay vaccination and site screening operations in anticipation of inclement weather on Thursday.

Dallas County: The opening of the Fair Park vaccination center will be delayed until noon Thursday.

County of Tarrant: All test sites will be closed and will resume normal operations on Friday, the county said.

Denton County: Vaccination appointments set for Thursday will be postponed until Friday afternoon, the county said. The shots will be administered at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

Parkland Health & Hospital System: The health provider said the vaccination sites at Ellis Davis Field House and Eastfield Community College in Mesquite will be closed Thursday through Monday. Those with appointments for these locations should be at Parkland Memorial Hospital on time, and those who cannot do so will be contacted by Parkland.

Testing sites at Sam Tasby Middle School in Dallas, Irving Health Center and West Dallas Multipurpose Center will be closed Thursday through Monday, Parkland said.

Texas

Statewide, 12,941 more cases were reported as of Wednesday, including 12,168 new cases and 773 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 385 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its toll to 39,386.

Of the new cases, 9,936 were confirmed and 2,232 were probable. Of the older cases, 486 have been confirmed and 287 were probable.

The state’s total cases now stand at 2,517,497, of which 2,187,994 are confirmed and 329,503 probable.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular testing, based on the date of sample collection, was 11.75% on Tuesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 5.03%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also referred to as 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, 2,630,567 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 892,736 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 1,311 coronavirus cases and 20 deaths on Wednesday.

The latest victims include 11 men and nine women between the ages of 40 and 90. Six victims lived in Fort Worth, four were from Arlington, two each lived in Mansfield and White Settlement, and one in Azle, Benbrook. , Everman, Hurst, North Richland Hills and Southlake. All but one had underlying health issues.

Of the new cases, 1,084 were confirmed and 227 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 232,292, of which 198,635 are confirmed and 33,657 probable. The death toll is 2,529.

According to the county, 893 people are hospitalized with the virus on Wednesday.

According to the state, 144,200 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 52,203 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

On Wednesday, the state added 414 coronavirus cases and nine deaths to the Collin County total.

No details on the latest casualties were available.

Of the new cases, 229 were confirmed and 185 were probable. The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 78,080, of which 66,418 are confirmed and 11,662 probable. The death toll is 645.

According to the county, 380 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 98,057 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 26,736 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 726 coronavirus cases and 15 deaths on Wednesday.

The latest victims include nine men and six women between the ages of 40 and 80. The victims included seven people from Denton, four from Lewisville and one from Frisco, Highland Village, Shady Shores and an unincorporated part of Denton County. Three victims lived in long-term care facilities.

The figures bring the county’s total number of cases to 58,644, of which 45,500 are confirmed and 13,144 probable. The death toll is 363.

According to the county, 166 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 44,492 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 17,491 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: 10,027 cases (8,298 confirmed and 1,729 probable), 113 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 13,979 cases (12,059 confirmed and 1,920 probable), 197 deaths.
• Ellis County: 19,813 cases (17,271 confirmed and 2,542 probable), 258 deaths.
• Johnson County: 17,663 cases (15,393 confirmed and 2,270 probable), 297 deaths.