Dallas County reports 20 coronavirus deaths, 296 cases; Tarrant County adds 9 deaths

Updated at 17:47: Revised to include statewide data.

Dallas County reported an additional 20 deaths from COVID-19 and 296 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday.

The latest victims were over 60 or older, but also included an Irving woman in her 30s who was found dead in her home. Seven were men and 13 were women, and all 20 had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Nine of the victims were residents of Dallas, four lived in Irving, two were from DeSoto and Grand Prairie and one lived in Carrollton, Garland and Mesquite.

County judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that there are reasons to be optimistic about the direction of the pandemic, including declining coronavirus hospitalizations and Parkland Memorial Hospital closing its COVID-19 units.

“The death toll remains stubbornly high, but I am hopeful that as more and more people get vaccinated and the daily case numbers continue to decline, we will see those numbers improve,” said Jenkins.

Of the new cases, 146 were confirmed and 150 were likely. The figures bring the total county cases to 289,494, including 251,360 confirmed and 38,134 probable. The death toll is 3,454.

The average number of new daily cases in the county in the past two weeks is 272. For the previous 14-day period, the average was 470.

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 Wednesday, 189 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care at hospitals in the municipality. During the same period, 363 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 545,620 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 281,907 – 14.0% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, an additional 3,234 cases were reported Thursday, including 2,955 new cases and 279 older cases recently reported by labs.

The state also recorded 132 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its number to 46,868.

Of the new cases, 2,167 were confirmed and 788 were probable. Of the oldest cases, 170 were confirmed and 109 were probable.

The state’s total number of cases now stands at 2,759,866, including 2,377,275 confirmed and 382,591 probable.

There are 3,410 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 718 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Wednesday, 4.4% 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 sample collection date, was 5.7% on Wednesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 3.2%. 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, 6,595,986 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 3,345,895 – 14.9% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported nine deaths and 142 cases on Thursday.

The latest victims were four women from Fort Worth, including one in her sixties and three in her eighties; an Arlington man in his 30s; a woman in Bedford over 90; a Grapevine man in his 80s; a Southlake woman in her 40s; and a Watauga woman in her 70s. All had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Of the new cases, 83 were confirmed and 59 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 249,821, including 211,133 confirmed and 38,688 probable. The death toll is 3,240.

According to the municipality, 208 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 392,991 people in Tarrant County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 217,298 – 13.6% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added one death and 77 cases to the Collin County total on Thursday.

No details about the latest victim were available.

Of the new cases, 56 were confirmed and 21 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 85,893, including 71,570 confirmed and 14,323 probable. The death toll is 786.

According to the city, 138 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 260,518 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 133,549 – 16.6% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 74 cases on Thursday. No additional deaths were reported.

The new reported cases bring the county’s total cases to 71,388, including 53,054 confirmed and 18,334 probable. The death toll is 462.

According to the municipality, 34 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 181,295 people in Denton County received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 103,166 – 14.7% of the county’s population aged 16 or older – 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: 11,001 cases (8,995 confirmed and 2,006 probable), 147 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 15,389 cases (12,975 confirmed and 2,414 likely), 234 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,729 cases (18,362 confirmed and 3,367 probable), 302 deaths.
• Johnson County: 19,186 cases (16,435 confirmed and 2,751 probable), 357 deaths.