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Dallas County reported 351 more confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, all but one of which the county considers new. Three new COVID-19 deaths were also reported.
Labs either report coronavirus cases directly to the county health department or to the state health department, which then relays the information to individual counties. Of cases reported Thursday, Dallas County health officials said 291 came from the state’s reporting system, including one from August and 290 from October. The remaining 60 cases were reported directly to the county health department.
The latest victims include a Garland man in his 50s, a Mesquite woman in her 70s and a Dallas man in his 90s. County officials said the older people had underlying health problems but did not specify whether the younger man did as well.
“We are back to the mid-August numbers for hospitalizations, and that increase is placing a strain on our local hospitals, especially on their staff who have been tirelessly responding to COVID since March,” County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement.
Data collected by University of Texas Southwestern scientists reflect increased hospitalizations across North Texas in recent weeks.
“The average volume for the past week was 91% higher than the most recent low in late September and 100% higher than the average volume in May,” the UT Southwestern analysis said.
Also, new infections are increasing across all age groups. After seeing an uptick in new cases among younger people last month, researchers are now reporting a rise in older groups, including North Texans 75 and older — a situation doctors say also happened in June.
“It is important to remember that people arriving at the hospital today were likely infected about two weeks ago,” the analysis said. “Our collective actions now are critical to changing the course of the outbreak in North Texas.”
The newly reported Dallas County cases bring its total confirmed cases to 91,664. The county’s confirmed death toll stands at 1,093.
Additionally, Dallas County reported 84 probable cases Thursday, bringing the total of probable cases to 4,819. The county also has added one probable COVID-19 death since yesterday’s report, raising that toll to 14.
A spokeswoman recently said the county was counting only positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as probable cases, though a few antibody and “household” results had been included previously.
Other North Texas counties provide estimates for how many people have recovered from the virus, but Dallas County officials do not report recoveries, saying it’s not a measurement used by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive-care admissions and emergency room visits as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period that ended Tuesday, 440 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 531 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease — about one-fifth of all countywide ER visits in that time, according to data reported to the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council.
Statewide data
Across the state, 5,917 more cases and 85 COVID-19 deaths were reported Thursday. Texas has now reported 845,100 confirmed cases and 17,286 fatalities.
There are 4,931 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,374 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The seven-day average positivity rate statewide, based on the date of test specimen collection, was 8.9% as of Wednesday. State health officials said using data based on when people were tested provides the most accurate positivity rate.
The state also provides a positivity rate based on when lab results were reported to the state; that rate also stood at 8.9% as of Wednesday.
Officials previously calculated Texas’ coronavirus positivity rate by dividing the most recent seven days of new positive test results by the most recent seven days of total new test results. By that measure, the positivity rate is now 7.4%, according to its dashboard.
A spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services said positivity rate data based on lab results and new cases probably will be phased out but is still being provided for transparency and continuity purposes.
Tarrant County
Tarrant County reported 732 coronavirus cases — the county’s highest single-day total since Oct. 11 — and two new fatalities Thursday.
The people who died had underlying health problems. They include a Fort Worth woman in her 40s and an Arlington man in his 80s.
The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 61,527, including 55,900 confirmed cases, 5,627 probable cases and 49,949 recoveries. The death toll stands at 712.
According to the county dashboard, 472 people are hospitalized with the virus.
Collin County
Collin County added 126 coronavirus cases Thursday, bringing its total to 17,248. The county also reported one new death, raising the toll to 174.
The county has 798 active cases of the virus — including 167 people who are hospitalized, according to the county dashboard — and has recorded 16,450 recoveries.
Collin County, which receives its data from the Department of State Health Services since turning over case management in June, has a note on its dashboard warning residents that it has low confidence in the numbers the state is providing.
Denton County
Denton County reported 124 coronavirus cases — of which 100 are active — and no new deaths Thursday.
The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 15,722, including 2,563 that are active and 13,041 that are recoveries. The death toll stands at 118.
The newly reported cases raised the county’s total molecular cases to 14,002, while antigen cases stand at 1,720.
There are 72 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, according to the county’s data.
Other counties
The Texas Department of State HealthServices has taken over reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.
The latest numbers are:
- Rockwall County: 1,854 cases, 32 deaths.
- Kaufman County: 3,449 cases, 55 deaths.
- Ellis County: 4,816 cases, 75 deaths.
- Johnson County: 3,505 cases, 63 deaths.