Dallas County reports 1,617 coronavirus cases, 12 deaths; Tarrant logs 36 fatalities, 1,888 cases

Dallas County reported 1,617 new coronavirus cases Sunday, as well as 12 more deaths from COVID-19.

The latest victims included four Dallas men — one in his 30s, one in his 40s, one in his 60s and the other in his 70 — and a Dallas woman in her 50s. The other fatalities were two Grand Prairie men in their 50s, a Duncanville woman in her 40s, an Irving woman in her 50s, a Mesquite man in his 50s, a Lancaster man in his 60s and a DeSoto woman in her 70s.

Eight of the victims were found dead in their homes, and all but two had underlying health problems.

Of the new cases, 1,317 were confirmed and 300 were probable.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 258,517, including 227,769 confirmed cases and 30,748 probable cases. The death toll stands at 2,191.

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. Because of a lag in weekend reporting, this data will next be available Tuesday.

According to the state’s data, 140,442 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 32,923 are fully vaccinated.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced Sunday that the city will be partnering with the Methodist Health System to distribute the Pfizer vaccine this week after weeks of negotiations. The partnership will help distribute more doses and will be evaluated on a week-by-week basis, according to a news release.

The city will distribute 1,875 doses Wednesday and Thursday at the convention center, and 3,000 doses will be administered at Methodist Dallas Medical Center in Oak Cliff on Thursday and Friday, according to the written statement. The city or Methodist will directly contact people who are eligible so they can schedule appointments.

The partnership will help alleviate the long lines at the city’s vaccination hub at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which Johnson apologized for Sunday afternoon. KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported that people had waited hours in line, only to be turned away at the entrance.

“On Saturday, we had more than 2,700 doses left to give out in a single day, and we continued to have a link-sharing problem that led to people making unauthorized appointments,” the mayor said.

A city spokeswoman told KXAS that of the people who were turned away, 30% of them had registered for appointments through a forwarded link — or some other way besides receiving the link directly from the city — or didn’t meet eligibility requirements. Some people were turned away with valid appointments after the city ran out of doses.

The mayor’s statement didn’t specify how the link-sharing issue was being addressed.

Texas

Across the state, 11,490 more cases were reported Sunday, including 11,155 new cases and 335 older cases that labs recently reported.

The state also reported 171 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 36,491.

Of the new cases, 9,903 were confirmed and 1,252 were probable. Of the older cases, 305 were confirmed and 30 were probable.

The newly reported cases bring the state’s total to 2,360,632, including 2,059,143 confirmed cases and 301,489 probable cases.

There are 11,220 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 3,010 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Saturday, 18.4% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients — above the 15% threshold the state has used to define high hospitalizations.

The seven-day average positivity rate statewide for molecular tests, based on the date of test specimen collection, was 14% as of Saturday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 7%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test. Gov. Greg Abbott has said a positivity rate above 10% is cause for concern.

According to the state’s data, 1,883,862 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 475,461 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 1,888 coronavirus cases and 36 deaths Sunday.

The latest victims ranged in age from their 50s through their 90s.

Ten were from Arlington, six were from Fort Worth, and four were from Hurst. Three lived in North Richland Hills, and two each lived in Euless and Haslet.

One each lived in Azle, Bedford, Blue Mound, Keller, Mansfield, Richland Hils, Southlake and White Settlement, and one lived in unincorporated Tarrant County. All but one had underlying health problems, and two of the deaths had gone unreported in December, officials said.

Of the new cases, 998 were confirmed and 890 were probable.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 218,798, including 188,036 confirmed cases and 30,762 probable cases. The death toll stands at 2,212.

According to the county, 1,177 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Friday.

According to the state’s data, 106,587 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 20,299 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added 335 coronavirus cases and four deaths to Collin County’s totals Sunday.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 326 were confirmed and nine were probable.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 72,705, including 62,180 confirmed cases and 10,525 probable cases. The death toll stands at 577.

According to the county, 496 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state’s data, 52,144 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 13,954 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County officials have said they will no longer report new coronavirus data on Sundays.

As of Saturday, the county had reported 53,554 cases, including 42,349 confirmed cases and 11,205 probable ones. The death toll stood at 318.

According to the state’s data, 29,028 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 8,444 are fully vaccinated.

Other counties

The Texas Department of State Health Services 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: 9,337 cases (7,762 confirmed and 1,575 probable), 100 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 13,005 cases (11,281 confirmed and 1,724 probable), 182 deaths.
• Ellis County: 18,561 cases (16,240 confirmed and 2,321 probable), 232 deaths.
• Johnson County: 16,483 cases (14,503 confirmed and 1,980 probable), 268 deaths.