Dallas County adds another 35 deaths from COVID-19, 1,149 cases; Denton County announces record 19 deaths

Updated at 16:31: Revised to include state data.

Dallas County reported 1,149 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, as well as another 35 deaths from COVID-19.

The last victims were mainly in the 60 to 90 age group. Fifteen were residents of Dallas and five lived in Mesquite. Three were residents of Garland, two of Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie and Lancaster, and one lived in Balch Springs, DeSoto, Irving and Sunnyvale. Only one, a Garland man in his 70s, was known for not having latent high-risk health conditions.

County Judge Clay Jenkins noted in a written statement that there were 176 deaths reported this week, just seven before last week’s record 183, and that people need to continue to take precautions against the spread of the virus wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

“The vaccine alone will not win the battle against COVID,” said Jenkins. “We must use all the tools at our disposal.”

Of the new cases, 789 were confirmed and 360 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 263,887, including 232,200 confirmed and 31,687 probable. The death toll is 2,355.

Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and visits to emergency rooms as key indicators to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period ended on Wednesday, 901 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care at hospitals in the municipality. During the same period, 450 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

According to state data, 167,802 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 43,090 are fully immunized.

Dallas County launched a new call center on Thursday to handle the high volume of calls for vaccines. The call center – at 855-466-8639 – operates from 7 am to 7 pm daily and calls can be answered in English and Spanish.

Texas

Across the state, an additional 15,283 cases were reported Thursday, including 14,748 new cases and 535 older cases that were recently reported by laboratories.

The state also recorded 439 deaths from COVID-19, increasing its number to 37,727.

Of the new cases, 11,999 were confirmed and 2,749 were likely. Of the oldest cases, 297 were confirmed and 238 were likely. The figures bring the grand total of cases from the state to 2,448,391, including 2,132,593 confirmed and 315,798 probable.

There are 10,523 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 2,911 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Wednesday, 17.2% of patients in the region of the hospital that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth area were patients with COVID-19 – above the 15% limit the state used to define high hospitalizations.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular tests, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 13.4% on Wednesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 6.8%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test. Governor Greg Abbott said a positivity rate above 10% is a cause for concern.

According to state data, 2,136,285 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 619,452 are fully immunized.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 1,663 cases of coronavirus and 15 deaths on Thursday.

The victims were mainly in their 70s and 80s, but one, a Saginaw woman, was in her 30s. Seven lived in Fort Worth, three were residents of Arlington, two were from Saginaw and one lived each in Keller, Mansfield and Richland Hills. All 15 victims had underlying high-risk health conditions, officials said.

Of the new cases, 1,301 were confirmed and 362 were likely. The figures bring the county’s grand total of cases to 225,399, including 192,668 confirmed and 32,731 probable. The death toll is 2,306.

According to the city, 1,030 people are hospitalized with the virus as of this Wednesday.

According to the state, 120,518 people in Tarrant County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 28,318 are fully immunized.

Collin County

The state added 425 cases of coronavirus and nine deaths to the total in Collin County on Thursday.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 279 were confirmed and 146 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s grand total of cases to 75,476, including 64,433 confirmed and 11,043 probable. The death toll is 608.

According to the municipality, 408 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 63,553 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 18,922 are fully immunized.

Denton County

Denton County reported 458 cases of coronavirus and a record 19 deaths on Thursday.

Most of the victims were 70 or older. Five lived in Denton and five more in Flower Mound. Two were Lewisville residents, one each was from Carrollton, Frisco and Prosper, and four lived in unincorporated areas of Denton County.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 55,820, including 43,779 confirmed cases and 12,041 probable cases. The death toll is 344.

According to the municipality, 174 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 33,358 people in Denton County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 10,928 are fully immunized.

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: 9,681 cases (8,033 confirmed and 1,648 likely), 105 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 13,513 cases (11,705 confirmed and 1,808 probable), 186 deaths.
• Ellis County: 19,234 cases (16,810 confirmed and 2,424 likely), 244 deaths.
• Johnson County: 17,141 cases (15,015 confirmed and 2,126 probable), 275 deaths.