Dallas County sets a record 40 coronavirus deaths and adds 1,427 new cases

Updated at 5:05 pm: Revised to include data from Collin County.

Dallas County reported 1,427 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, as well as another 40 deaths from COVID-19.

The death toll was the highest on a single county day, which was set on Wednesday. Last week was the most lethal week in the county so far during the pandemic.

The last victims were between 50 and 90 years old, but two people in their 30s and one in their 40s also died. Sixteen of the victims were Dallas residents and eight lived in Mesquite. Four were residents of Garland, three lived in Duncanville, Grand Prairie and Richardson, two lived in Irving and one was a resident of Carrollton.

Four victims – a Garland man in his 50s, a Mesquite woman in his 70s, a woman in Dallas in the 80s and a woman in Mesquite’s house in the 90s – were known to have no underlying high-risk health problems. One, a Dallas woman in her 40s, was found dead at home.

County judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that, while the number of new cases is decreasing, deaths will remain high for at least the next two weeks because they are the result of the highest number of cases in December and January.

Of the new cases, 1,321 were confirmed and 106 were likely.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 259,944, including 229,090 confirmed cases and 30,854 probable cases. The death toll is 2,231.

Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and visits to emergency rooms as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. Due to a delay in weekend reports, these numbers will be available next Tuesday.

According to state data, 143,791 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 34,938 are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, 31,811 more cases were reported on Monday, including 14,133 new cases and 17,678 older cases that were recently reported by labs. State officials said the larger than normal number of old cases was due to data entry and cleanup efforts.

The state also recorded 48 deaths from COVID-19, increasing the number of victims to 36,539.

Of the new cases, 11,885 were confirmed and 2,248 were likely. Of the oldest cases, 16,142 were confirmed and 1,536 were probable.

The new notified cases raise the state total to 2,392,443, including 2,087,170 confirmed cases and 305,273 probable cases.

There are 11,074 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 3,020 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Sunday, 18.8% of patients in the hospital’s coverage area were patients with COVID-19 – above the 15% limit that the state uses to define high admissions.

The seven-day average positivity rate across the state for molecular testing, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 13.4% on Sunday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 6.7%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test. Governor Greg Abbott said a positivity rate above 10% is a cause for concern.

According to state data, 1,947,164 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 499,436 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 1,887 cases of coronavirus and 28 deaths on Monday.

The latest victims were over 60, but a man and woman in their 30s also died. Fourteen of the victims were residents of Fort Worth, and three each lived in Forest Hill and North Richland Hills. Two were residents of Arlington, and each lived in Aledo, Benbrook, Crowley, Euless, Grapevine and Hurst.

Of the new cases, 1,257 were confirmed and 630 were probable.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 220,685, including 189,293 confirmed cases and 31,392 probable cases. The death toll is 2,240.

According to the city, 1,048 people are hospitalized with the virus until Sunday.

According to state data, 112,310 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 21,202 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added 875 cases of coronavirus and three deaths to the total in Collin County on Monday.

No details on the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 806 were confirmed and 69 were likely.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 73,580, including 62,986 confirmed cases and 10,594 probable cases. The death toll is 580.

According to the municipality, 467 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to state data, 53,021 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 14,679 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 600 cases of coronavirus and seven deaths on Monday.

The latest victims include four Flower Mound residents: a man in his 60s and two women over 80 who lived in Hollymead, and a man over 80 who lived in The Oaks in Flower Mound. The other victims were a Frisco man in his 70s, a Highland Village man in his 80s and a Lewisville man in his 80s who lived at Gracious Care Home.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 54,154, including 42,735 confirmed cases and 11,419 probable cases. The death toll is 325.

According to the municipality, 179 people are hospitalized with the virus.

State data show that 29,401 people in Denton County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 8,828 are fully vaccinated.

Starting on Tuesday, a vaccine site at Texas Motor Speedway will aim to distribute 10,000 doses of vaccine per day – dispensing a quota of 32,000 counties over three days – with 16 drive-through vaccination routes.

Other counties

The Texas Department of Health Services has taken over the reports for these other northern Texas counties. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.

The last numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 9,337 cases (7,762 confirmed and 1,575 probable), 100 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 13,005 cases (11,281 confirmed and 1,724 probable), 182 deaths.
• Ellis County: 18,561 cases (16,240 confirmed and 2,321 probable), 233 deaths.
• Johnson County: 16,483 cases (14,503 confirmed and 1,980 probable), 268 deaths.