The area of ​​four counties affects 6,000 deaths from COVID-19; winter weather changes vaccination schedules and testing

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

Meanwhile, the quartet of Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant County totaled 81 deaths on Wednesday, bringing their collective number to more than 6,000 – or 6,056.

Dallas County’s latest victims included 25 men and 13 women in their 20s and 90s. They included 15 people from Dallas, eight from Garland, four from Irving and Rowlett, two from DeSoto and one from Coppell, Lancaster, Mesquite and Wylie.

Nine victims lived in long-term care facilities. Five victims, including a Dallas man in his 20s, had no underlying health problems.

On Wednesday – and for the first time since November – COVID-19 hospitalizations for the Dallas-Fort Worth hospital region fell below the 15% limit 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 with 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 internal business capacity in December, after reporting more than 15% of COVID-19 hospitalizations for a week, which led to a reduction in that area’s internal business capacity. According to the governor’s executive order of October 7, the rate is expected to drop to less than 15% for a week before business capacity can increase again.

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

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

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

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

Closing sites

Several North Texas county health departments and health care providers announced that they would close or delay vaccination operations and test sites in anticipation of bad weather on Thursday.

Dallas County: The inauguration of the Fair Park vaccine pole will be late until noon Thursday.

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

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

Parkland Health & Hospital System: The health provider said Vaccination sites at Ellis Davis Field House and Eastfield Community College in Mesquite will be closed from Thursday to Monday. Those with scheduled times for these locations must go to Parkland Memorial Hospital at the scheduled time and those who are unable to attend will be contacted by Parkland.

Test 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

Across the state, an additional 12,941 cases were reported on Wednesday, including 12,168 new cases and 773 older cases recently reported by laboratories.

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

Of the new cases, 9,936 were confirmed and 2,232 were likely. Of the oldest cases, 486 were confirmed and 287 were likely.

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

The seven-day average positivity rate across the state for molecular testing, based on the date of collection of the test sample, 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 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 the state, 2,630,567 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 892,736 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

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

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

Of the new cases, 1,084 were confirmed and 227 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 232,292, including 198,635 confirmed and 33,657 probable. The death toll is 2,529.

According to the city, 893 people are hospitalized with the virus as of this 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

The state added 414 cases of coronavirus and nine deaths to the total in Collin County on Wednesday.

No details on the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 229 were confirmed and 185 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 78,080, including 66,418 confirmed and 11,662 probable. The death toll is 645.

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

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

Denton County

Denton County reported 726 cases of coronavirus 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 numbers bring the county’s total cases to 58,644, including 45,500 confirmed and 13,144 probable. The death toll is 363.

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

According to the state, 44,492 people in Denton County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 17,491 are fully vaccinated.

Other counties

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

The last 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 likely), 258 deaths.
• Johnson County: 17,663 cases (15,393 confirmed and 2,270 probable), 297 deaths.