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Dallas County reported 259 additional coronavirus cases Friday, as well as one new death from COVID-19.
Of the cases, 109 came from the state’s electronic reporting system, including 64 that were backlogged: 23 from July and 41 from August. The other 150 cases were reported directly to the county health department.
The latest victim was a 78-year-old Sunnyvale woman, who did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.
On the 19th anniversary of 9/11, County Judge Clay Jenkins called upon residents to make small sacrifices, like wearing face masks and observing social distancing measures, to help others.
“If those who have gone before us can do great acts of heroism, we can do simple acts of kindness and consideration to protect our fellow residents from COVID-19,” he said in a written statement.
The newly reported cases bring the county’s total confirmed cases to 74,887. The county’s death toll stands at 965.
Separately, the county has reported 3,404 probable cases of COVID-19 and 10 probable deaths. Probable cases or deaths include people who test positive in an antigen test, have antibodies for the virus or have COVID-19 symptoms along with contact with someone with a confirmed case.
While other North Texas counties provide estimates for how many people have recovered from the virus, Dallas County officials do not report recoveries, saying it’s not a measurement used by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The county’s provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases for the latest reporting period, Aug. 30 to Saturday, was 243. The figure is calculated by the date of the COVID-19 test collection, according to the county. The previous week, the average was 295.
There was also a decline in cases among school-age children that week, with 104 cases among 5- to 17-year-olds.
Local health officials use hospitalizations, intensive-care unit admissions and emergency room visits as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in Dallas County. In the last 24 hours, 332 COVID-19 patients were in county hospitals, and 391 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.
Officials said Friday that there are signs the virus’ spread is increasing.
Dallas County’s R0 — which measures how many people an average person with the virus infects — is slightly above 1, which means the epidemic is growing, according to research by UT Southwestern Medical Center. Jenkins said other metrics also were rising.
Jenkins said the county’s public health committee would examine the data at its meeting Friday and “ascertain any root causes and information that may be helpful in controlling the spread.”
Across the state, 3,488 more coronavirus cases were announced Friday, along with 144 deaths. Texas has reported 653,356 confirmed cases and 13,997 fatalities.
There are 3,465 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 750 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Thursday, the seven-day average positivity rate statewide was 6.9%, below the 10% threshold that Gov. Greg Abbott has said is cause for concern.
Tarrant County
Tarrant County reported 211 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day Friday, along with one additional death — a Southlake woman in her 90s.
The new cases bring the county’s total to 43,937, including 2,819 probable cases. The county’s death toll from the virus is 592.
According to the county’s dashboard, 230 people are hospitalized with the virus in Tarrant County, and 38,769 have recovered.
Collin County
Four additional coronavirus deaths were reported in Collin County on Friday.
No details about the victims were available. The county has had 122 deaths from COVID-19.
Collin County also reported 70 new cases of COVID-19, bringing its total to 11,804 cases.
Collin County, which receives its data from the Department of State Health Services since it turned over case management in June, has a note on its dashboard warning residents that it has low confidence in the numbers it is being provided.
Denton County
Denton County reported 61 new coronavirus cases Friday, raising the county’s total to 10,977.
No new deaths were reported, keeping the death toll at 105.
Thirty-eight patients remain hospitalized, according to the county’s data, while 9,334 have recovered.
Denton County Public Health will offer free drive-through testing Tuesday at Hawaiian Falls water park, 4400 Paige Road in The Colony. Those eligible for a test include people who have exhibited COVID-19 symptoms in the last seven days, essential workers, people older than 60, and anyone who has had contact with someone carrying the virus.
Preregistration is required by calling 940-349-2585. Appointment times begin at 8 a.m.
Other counties
The Texas Department of State Health Services has taken over reporting for other North Texas counties. Some of those counties may not report updates each day.
The latest numbers are:
- Rockwall County: 1,443 cases, 23 deaths.
- Kaufman County: 2,911 cases, 42 deaths.
- Ellis County: 3,988 cases, 61 deaths.
- Johnson County: 2,659 cases, 46 deaths.