Dallas County reports 348 coronavirus cases, 18 deaths as nation’s toll from COVID-19 tops 500,000

Dallas County reported 348 new coronavirus cases Monday, as well as 18 more deaths from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the United States passed half a million deaths from the virus, hitting a total of 500,172 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The latest Dallas County victims were mostly in their 70s and older. Four of them — a Carrollton man in his 50s, a Garland man in his 80s, a Richardson man in his 80s and a Rowlett man in his 80s — did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.

Five were Dallas residents, and five more were from Garland. Two were from Richardson, and one each lived in Carrollton, Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Grand Prairie, Irving and Rowlett.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that case numbers remained low because of last week’s weather but should return to normal soon.

Jenkins also said the county’s vaccine site at Fair Park ran out of doses and would not operate until it receives more. Although he had hoped the next shipment would arrive early enough to open the site Tuesday, Jenkins tweeted Monday night that the uncertainty involved meant that the site would be closed Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 270 were confirmed and 78 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s overall case total to 277,293, including 243,040 confirmed and 34,253 probable. The death toll is 2,856.

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 delay in weekend reporting, those numbers will next be available Tuesday.

According to the state, 254,417 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 110,276 are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, 6,365 more cases were reported Monday, including 2,632 new cases and 3,733 older ones recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 64 COVID-19 deaths, raising the toll to 41,407.

Of the new cases, 2,355 were confirmed and 277 were probable. Of the older cases, 3,399 were confirmed and 334 were probable.

The state’s case total is now 2,594,466, including 2,251,388 confirmed and 343,078 probable.

There are 6,964 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,791 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Sunday, 11.1% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients — below 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 11.8% as of Sunday. Gov. Greg Abbott has said a positivity rate above 10% is cause for concern. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 2.3%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test.

According to the state, 3,118,003 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 1,367,026 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 415 coronavirus cases and 22 deaths Monday.

Most of the victims were in their 70s or older, and all but one had underlying high-risk health conditions. Eight lived in Fort Worth, three lived in Arlington and two were Watauga residents. One each lived in Benbrook, Colleyville, Euless, Haltom City, Keller, Mansfield, North Richland Hills, White Settlement and an unincorporated area.

Of the new cases, 207 were confirmed and 208 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s case total to 238,820, including 203,703 confirmed and 35,117 probable. The death toll is 2,789.

According to the county, 636 people are hospitalized with the virus as of Sunday.

According to the state, 194,568 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 101,950 are fully vaccinated.

Collin County

The state added 184 coronavirus cases Monday to Collin County’s totals. No new deaths were reported.

Of the new cases, 145 were confirmed and 39 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s case total to 81,392, including 68,887 confirmed and 12,505 probable. The death toll is 694.

According to the county, 264 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 119,388 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 44,276 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 991 coronavirus cases and 16 deaths Monday. The county’s health department was closed last week because of the weather and did not report coronavirus data the entire week.

The latest victims were mostly in their 60s and older. Eight lived in Denton, three were from Lewisville, two were Carrollton residents and one each lived in The Colony, Dallas and Frisco.

The newly reported cases bring the county’s case total to 61,156, including 46,956 confirmed and 14,200 probable. The death toll is 398.

According to the county, 128 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 66,369 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 28,922 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: 10,336 cases (8,545 confirmed and 1,791 probable), 116 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 14,504 cases (12,447 confirmed and 2,057 probable), 212 deaths.
• Ellis County: 20,406 cases (17,742 confirmed and 2,664 probable), 268 deaths.
• Johnson County: 18,227 cases (15,825 confirmed and 2,402 probable), 308 deaths.