Dallas County reports 26 deaths from COVID-19; Tarrant County adds 37 deaths

Dallas County reported an additional 26 deaths from COVID-19 and 458 new cases of coronavirus on Friday.

Most of the victims were 60 or older, but one was a man in his 30s. Nineteen were men and seven were women, and only two – both men in their 80s – did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.

Twelve of the victims were from Dallas and seven were residents of Garland. Two were from DeSoto and each lived in Duncanville, Irving, Lancaster, Mesquite and Richardson.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that residents should continue to follow the advice of medical experts, including wearing masks and avoiding dates, while the number of vaccinated people continues to grow.

Of the new cases, 323 were confirmed and 135 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s grand total of cases to 283,638, including 247,349 confirmed and 36,289 probable. The death toll is 3,097.

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 ending on Thursday, 382 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive care at hospitals in the municipality. During the same period, 376 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 324,861 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 185,777 – 9.2% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, an additional 6,853 cases were reported on Friday, including 5,913 new cases and 940 older cases recently reported by laboratories.

The state also recorded 256 deaths from COVID-19, increasing its number to 44,134.

Of the new cases, 4,277 were confirmed and 1,636 were probable. Of the oldest cases, 786 were confirmed and 154 were likely.

The state’s total cases are now 2,678,295, including 2,314,187 confirmed and 364,108 probable.

There are 5,065 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,221 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Thursday, 7.3% of patients in the region of the hospital that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth area were patients with COVID-19 – below the 15% limit the state uses to define high hospitalizations.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular testing, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 8.2% on Thursday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 4.1%. 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, 4,053,836 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 2,238,790 – 10.0% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 37 deaths and 401 cases on Friday.

The last victims were mostly 50 years old or more, but one was a man in his 20s and the other was a woman in his 30s. Twenty-one were men and 16 were women, and all but four, had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Thirteen were residents of Fort Worth, six were from Arlington and three lived in Mansfield. Two were from Crowley, Haltom City, Hurst and North Richland Hills, and each lived in Azle, Grapevine, Keller, Pelican Bay, Saginaw, Southlake and an unincorporated area.

Tarrant County has reported a higher number of deaths on Fridays because of when it receives data from the state’s death certificate. Twenty-six of the last victims died in February, 10 died in January and one died in December.

Of the new cases, 263 were confirmed and 138 were likely, and the county said 103 were cases overdue for more than a month. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 244,632, including 207,651 confirmed and 36,981 probable. The death toll is 2,967.

According to the city, 400 people were hospitalized with the virus until Thursday.

According to the state, 245,595 people in Tarrant County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 169,044 – 10.6% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added four deaths and 104 cases to the Collin County total on Friday.

No details on the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 76 were confirmed and 28 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 83,820, including 70,260 confirmed and 13,560 probable. The death toll is 744.

According to the city, 282 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 151,341 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 92,272 – 11.4% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported four deaths and 449 cases on Friday.

The latest victims were all men over 80, from Carrollton, Hackberry, Lewisville and Little Elm.

The new reported cases bring the total cases in the county to 66,842, including 50,358 confirmed and 16,484 probable. The death toll is 425.

According to the municipality, 83 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 111,786 people in Denton County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 67,267 – 9.6% 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: 10,703 cases (8,798 confirmed and 1,905 probable), 133 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 14,960 cases (12,739 confirmed and 2,221 probable), 223 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,338 cases (18,097 confirmed and 3,241 probable), 284 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,748 cases (16,150 confirmed and 2,598 probable), 332 deaths.