Dallas County breaks the 1-day record by adding 2,842 new cases of coronavirus; 23 deaths also announced

On Saturday, Dallas County reported a record 2,842 cases of coronavirus in a single day, all considered new. The county also reported 23 new deaths from COVID-19.

The case count breaks the previous day’s record of 2,512 cases announced on December 23.

The latest victims include 14 Dallas residents. Three were women – one in her 30s and two in her 60s. The other 11 were men – three in their 40s, three in their 50s, two in their 60s, two in their 70s and one in their 80s.

The victims also included two people from Duncanville – a man in his 40s and a woman in his 60s; two Mesquite women in their 60s and 90s; two residents of Irving – a man and woman in their 70s; and a Sunnyvale man in his 50s, a DeSoto man in his 60s and a Seagoville man in his 60s.

Eleven of those who died were found at home, two lived in long-term care facilities and one was found in a park.

“These deaths spread over several weeks, as autopsies and other prerequisites for their investigation and announcement were slow to complete,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement.

Jenkins repeated his advice to avoid crowds and gatherings in an effort to prevent the community from spreading.

“Our actions today will determine where the numbers will be in two weeks,” he said.

Of the new cases registered on Saturday, 2,312 are confirmed and 530 are probable. The county has already registered 174,477 confirmed cases and 21,683 probable cases. The death toll is 1,651.

The county said it is counting only positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as probable cases; some antibody and “household” results have been included previously.

While other counties in northern Texas provide estimates of how many people have recovered from the virus, Dallas county officials do not report recoveries, noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not use this metric.

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 ended on December 31, 1,016 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care at hospitals in the municipality. During the same period, 544 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

The county reported that, during the past 30 days, 5,971 schoolchildren tested positive for COVID-19 in 756 different schools in Dallas County.

More than two-thirds of all confirmed cases that have required hospitalization so far have occurred in people under the age of 65, and diabetes has been an underlying condition in about a third of all hospitalized patients, according to the county.

The seven-day provisional average of new confirmed and probable county diaries for the week ending December 19 was 1,787. The amount is calculated up to the date of collection of COVID-19, according to the municipality.

Of the total COVID-19 deaths confirmed in the county, about 22% are associated with long-term care institutions.

State data

Across the state, another 4,482 cases and 96 deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Saturday. Texas now reported 1,777,246 total cases and 27,867 deaths.

Of the new cases, 3,995 were confirmed and 487 were likely. The state notified 1,568,034 confirmed cases and 209,212 probable cases.

There are 12,319 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 3,714 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular tests, based on the date of collection of the test specimen, was 20.51% on Friday. State health officials said that using data based on when people were tested provides the most accurate rate of positivity.

For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 12.92%.

Tarrant County reported 3,361 coronavirus cases and 18 new deaths on Saturday.

The latest fatalities include six Arlington residents – two women in their 50s and 60s and four men in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s; four Fort Worth residents – three men in their 30s, 40s and 70s and one woman in their 90s; two people from Mansfield – a woman in her 70s and a man in her 80s; two people from North Richland Hills – a woman in her 70s and a man in her 80s; and an Azle man in his 70s, a Grand Prairie man in his 80s; a man from Haltom City in his 70s; and a man from Sansom Park in his 70s.

All but one victim had underlying health problems, the county said.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 153,365, including 134,011 confirmed cases, 19,354 probable cases and 110,335 recoveries. The death toll is 1,512.

According to Thursday’s figures on the county panel, a record 1,399 people were hospitalized with the virus.

Collin County

The state added 619 cases of coronavirus and four new deaths from COVID-19 to Collin County total on Saturday. The county has already recorded 50,012 cases and a death toll of 377.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 563 were confirmed and 56 were likely. Collin County recorded 44,734 confirmed cases and 5,278 probable cases. According to state data, the municipality has 4,699 active cases and recorded 40,035 recoveries.

The county coronavirus panel provides only total hospitalizations, now at 519.

Denton County

Denton County reported 610 cases of coronavirus – 582 of which are active – and four new deaths on Saturday.

The latest deaths include a Frisco man in his 70s and three Lewisville residents – a woman in her 60s and a man and woman over 80.

The new reported cases bring the county’s total cases to 39,792, including 12,952 who are active and 26,622 who are in recovery.

The death toll in the county is 218.

There are 944 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized, reports the county.

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: 6,270 cases (5,208 confirmed and 1,062 probable), 54 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 9,306 cases (8,125 confirmed and 1,181 probable), 124 deaths.
• Ellis County: 13,261 cases (11,675 confirmed and 1,586 likely), 176 deaths.
• Johnson County: 11,135 cases (9,872 confirmed and 1,263 likely), 162 deaths.

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