Dallas County reports 31 deaths from COVID-19 on the anniversary of the first case of the virus in North Texas

Updated at 4:07 pm: Revised to include data from Denton County.

Dallas County reported an additional 31 deaths from COVID-19 and 265 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday – a year after the first “presumably positive” case of the disease in northern Texas was reported in Collin County.

Since March 9, 2020, more than 740,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have contracted COVID-19 and more than 8,300 have died from it.

All of Dallas County’s last victims were in their fifties or older, and none were known to lack underlying high-risk health conditions. Twenty-one were men and 10 were women.

Fourteen of the victims were residents of Dallas, and three were from Grand Prairie and Mesquite. Two were from DeSoto and Garland, and one lived in Balch Springs, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Irving, Richardson, Rowlett and Seagoville.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that the daily number of new cases has dropped, but that the death toll remains “stubbornly high”.

Jenkins noted that deaths from COVID-19 are a residual indicator of the disease: “Many of the deaths we are experiencing now are from people who became ill when the case count was very high.”

Of the new cases, 251 were confirmed and 14 were likely. The figures bring the county’s grand total of cases to 284,775, including 248,225 confirmed and 36,550 probable. The death toll is 3,180.

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. In the 24-hour period that ended on Monday, 309 patients with COVID-19 were in acute care at municipal hospitals – the lowest number in five months. During the same period, 318 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 376,242 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 211,516 – 10.5% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, 5,313 cases were reported Tuesday, including 4,807 new cases and 506 older cases recently reported by laboratories.

The state also recorded 167 deaths from COVID-19, bringing the number of victims to 44,650.

Of the new cases, 3,744 were confirmed and 1,063 were probable. Of the oldest cases, 413 were confirmed and 93 were likely.

The total number of cases in the state is now 2,694,726, including 2,326,885 confirmed and 367,841 probable.

There are 4,702 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,041 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Monday, 6.5% of patients in the region of the hospital that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth area were patients with COVID-19 – below the 15% limit that the state has used to define high hospitalizations.

The seven-day average positivity rate across the state for molecular testing, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 6.6% on Monday. For the antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 2.8%. A molecular test is considered to be 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, 4,529,070 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 2,463,005 – 11.0% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported seven deaths and 244 cases on Tuesday.

The latest victims were two Arlington residents, a woman in her 50s and a man in her 80s; two women from Fort Worth in their 80s; a Keller woman in her 80s; a Richland Hills man in his 30s; and a Watauga man over 90 years old. Six of them had high-risk health conditions, officials said.

Of the new cases, 135 were confirmed and 109 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 245,629, including 208,299 confirmed and 37,330 probable. The death toll is 3,028.

According to the city, 342 people were hospitalized with the virus until Monday.

According to the state, 269,904 people in Tarrant County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 176,540 – 11.1% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added two deaths and 158 cases to the Collin County total on Tuesday.

No details on the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 95 were confirmed and 63 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 84,309, including 70,619 confirmed and 13,690 probable. The death toll is 751.

According to the city, 193 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 169,456 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 103,098 – 12.8% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported six deaths and 460 cases on Tuesday.

Three of the latest victims were residents of Avanti Senior Living at Flower Mound: a man in his 70s and two women over 80. The others were a Denton man in his 70s, a Justin man in his 70s, and a Northlake man in his 80s.

New reported cases bring the county’s total cases to 68,236, including 51,108 confirmed and 17,128 probable. The death toll is 431.

According to the municipality, 62 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 119,555 people in Denton County received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 84,823 – 12.1% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – 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: 10,772 cases (8,853 confirmed and 1,919 probable), 133 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 15,084 cases (12,799 confirmed and 2,285 likely), 225 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,407 cases (18,146 confirmed and 3,261 probable), 288 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,810 cases (16,190 confirmed and 2,620 probable), 338 deaths.