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Dallas County health officials reported 1,101 new coronavirus cases Saturday and four deaths, rounding out the county’s deadliest week and the highest daily average of new cases for one week during the pandemic.
The victims include a Carrollton man in his 50s, a Dallas woman in her 70s, and two residents of long-term care facilities: a woman in her 70s in a facility in Mesquite and a woman in her 90s in a facility in Richardson.
It’s the ninth straight day the county has recorded more than 1,000 cases in a day.
The county has now had 32,626 cases of the virus, or about 12.4 cases for every 1,000 residents. The death toll is 449, about a third of which is associated with long-term care facilities. The county does not report recoveries.
County health officials said a rising number of cases are being reported in people between 18 and 39, with half of cases reported after June 1 being in this age group. A large number of cases since June have been associated with gatherings of large people, county health officials said.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins encouraged residents to continue to stay home as much as possible and wear a mask while in public.
“The numbers continue to rise, which means there are more and more sick people out there moving around,” he said in a written statement. “You protect yourself by staying home and away from others as much as possible. You protect others by wearing your mask at all times when around them. … We will get through this together, but it takes all of us making good choices and looking out for one another.”
Hospitalizations, intensive-care unit admissions and emergency room visits — three key metrics officials have used to monitor the course of the outbreak — remain high.
The county said 783 people were hospitalized Friday, a slight drop from the 809 reported the previous day. About 730 people visited emergency rooms with COVID-19 symptoms, making up about a third of all ER visits in the county.
More than two-thirds of hospitalizations to date have been of patients under 65. Diabetes has been reported in an underlying health condition in about a third of all hospitalizations, according to the county.
Tarrant County
Tarrant County reported 423 new coronavirus cases Saturday, along with six deaths.
The victims included a Saginaw man in his 80s, a White Settlement man in his 80s, an Arlington man in his 40s, and three women from Fort Worth who were in their 60s and 80s. All of the victims had underlying health conditions, county health officials said.
The county has now had 17,757 cases — about 8.4 for every 1,000 residents — 268 deaths and 7,866 recoveries. About 657 people are hospitalized with the disease.
Denton County
Denton County health officials reported 127 cases of coronavirus, along with one death.
The victim was a Dallas woman in her 80s, and brings the total number of deaths in the county to 40.
The county has recorded 3,937 cases, or about 4.4 for every 1,000 residents. Recoveries total 1,499.
Collin County
Collin County health officials reported 151 new coronavirus cases Saturday, bringing its total to 4,459, or about 4.3 cases for every 1,000 residents.
There were no additional deaths reported, leaving the county’s death toll at 56. There are 195 people currently hospitalized with the virus, while 3,545 have recovered, according to the county’s data.
Other counties
Reporting for other North Texas counties has been taken over by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Those counties may not report updated totals every day. The latest totals are:
- Ellis County — 1,604 cases, 20 deaths
- Johnson County — 788 cases, four deaths
- Kaufman County — 971 cases, five deaths
- Rockwall County — 458 cases, 17 deaths