Texas reports more than 2,300 new cases of COVID-19 while Tarrant County adds 22 deaths

Updated at 17:58 to include details of victims in Tarrant County.

Across the state, an additional 2,628 cases of coronavirus were reported on Sunday, including 2,347 new cases and 281 older cases that were recently reported by laboratories.

The state also totaled 69 deaths from COVID-19, bringing its number to 45,543.

The death toll in that state is the third highest in the country, behind those in California and New York, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Continuous seven-day averages of new cases and deaths in Texas have declined in the past two weeks from Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins data.

The average number of new cases dropped from 7,964 daily on February 25 to 4,648 on March 11, while the average number of deaths fell from 220.6 to 168.9 per day in the same period.

Of the new cases, 2,004 were confirmed and 343 were probable. Of the oldest cases, 280 were confirmed and one was likely.

The total number of cases in the state is now 2,718,383, including 2,345,024 confirmed and 373,359 probable.

There are 4,093 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 858 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Saturday, 5.31% 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 uses 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 specimen, was 6.1% on Saturday. For the antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 2.3%. A molecular test, sometimes called a PCR test, is considered more accurate; 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, 5,371,479 people in Texas received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 2,832,158 – 12.6% of the state’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Dallas County

Dallas County officials no longer release new coronavirus data on Sundays. Figures that would previously be reported on Sundays will be released on Mondays.

On Saturday, the county’s overall caseload was 286,351 – 249,246 confirmed and 37,105 probable. The death toll is 3,299.

According to state data, 445,979 people in Dallas County received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 239,314 – 11.9% of the county’s population aged 16 or older – are fully immunized.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 22 deaths and 212 cases on Sunday.

The latest victims include 11 women and 11 men aged 30 and over.

Eleven victims were from Fort Worth, five from Arlington, one from Forest Hill, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Southlake, Watauga and an unincorporated part of Tarrant County. All but one had underlying health problems.

Of the new cases, 187 were confirmed and 25 were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 247,348, including 209,498 confirmed and 37,850 probable. The death toll is 3,119.

According to the city, 273 people were hospitalized with the virus until Friday.

According to the state, 328,600 people in Tarrant County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 194,693 – 12.2% of the county’s population aged 16 or older – are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added 39 cases and a new death to the Collin County total on Sunday.

No details about the latest victim were available.

Of the new cases, 34 were confirmed and five were likely. The numbers bring the county’s total cases to 84,964, including 71,022 confirmed and 13,942 probable. The death toll is 764.

According to the municipality, 184 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 204,271 people in Collin County received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 114,897 – 14.3% of the county’s population aged 16 and over – are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County officials no longer report new coronavirus data on Sundays.

As of Saturday, the county had reported 69,698 cases, including 51,867 confirmed and 17,831 probable cases. The death toll was 431.

According to the state, 142,356 people in Denton County received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 92,004 – 13.1% 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: 10,836 cases (8,897 confirmed and 1,939 likely), 141 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 15,196 cases (12,863 confirmed and 2,333 probable), 231 deaths.
• Ellis County: 21,541 cases (18,225 confirmed and 3,316 probable), 296 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,920 cases (16,262 confirmed and 2,658 likely), 343 deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.