Advertisement

newsPublic Health

Dallas County reports 18 coronavirus deaths, 294 cases — with an increase in more-contagious strains

Tarrant County officials reported 11 additional COVID-19 deaths Friday.

Dallas County reported 18 more COVID-19 deaths and 294 new coronavirus cases Friday, including more than 30 cases of more-contagious strains of the virus.

The latest victims were mostly in their 60s or older but included one man in his 20s and another in his 30s. Seven were men and eleven were women, and all 18 had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Thirteen of the victims were Dallas residents and one each lived in Balch Springs, DeSoto, Grand Prairie, Irving and Mesquite.

Advertisement

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that the new cases included 27 instances of the B.1.1.7, or U.K., variant and four of the B.1.429, or California, variant. The county has now reported 46 total cases of B.1.1.7 and six of B.1.429.

D-FW Public Health Alerts

Get the latest public health updates.

Or with:

“The vaccine is effective against all of these variants and we are in a race … to get to herd immunity before the vaccine mutates to move beyond the efficacy of the current vaccine,” Jenkins said.

Of the new cases, 222 were confirmed and 72 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s overall case total to 293,659 — 253,668 confirmed and 39,991 probable. The death toll is 3,687.

Advertisement

The average number of new daily cases in the county for the last two weeks is 276. For the previous 14-day period, the average was 265.

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 Thursday, 197 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 440 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 768,458 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 437,461 — 21.6% of the county’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

Advertisement

With Pfizer asking the Food and Drug Administration on Friday to expand its emergency-use authorization to include 12- to 15-year-olds, Jenkins said residents should begin registering children in that age group for vaccinations.

Texas

Across the state, 3,402 more cases were reported Friday — 3,018 new cases and 384 older ones recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 96 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 48,109.

Of the new cases, 2,227 were confirmed and 791 were probable. Of the older cases, 237 were confirmed and 147 were probable.

The state’s case total is now 2,812,899 — 2,418,286 confirmed and 394,613 probable.

There were 2,866 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 561 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Thursday, 3.4% 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.

Advertisement

The seven-day average positivity rate statewide for molecular tests, based on the date of test specimen collection, was 5.7% as of Thursday. 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. Gov. Greg Abbott has said a positivity rate above 10% is cause for concern.

According to the state, 8,817,293 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 5,257,984 — 23.5% of the state’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

The state said Friday that it would be receiving fewer doses next week because of a reduction in the supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of production issues at a plant in Baltimore.

Advertisement

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 11 deaths and 208 cases Friday.

The victims were mostly in their 60s or older. Eight were men and three were women, and all but one had underlying high-risk health conditions.

Four of the victims were Fort Worth residents, two were from Bedford and one each lived in Benbrook, Colleyville, Grapevine, Haltom City and Keller.

Advertisement

Of the new cases, 137 were confirmed and 71 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s case total to 252,669 — 212,998 confirmed and 39,671 probable. The death toll is 3,351.

According to the county, 152 people were hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 511,492 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 353,841 — 21.9% of the county’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County health officials said Friday that everyone on the county’s vaccine waitlist had been issued an appointment and that people who register now should be contacted within two days with an appointment.

Advertisement

Collin County

The state added two deaths and 64 cases to Collin County’s totals Friday.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 38 were confirmed and 26 were probable. The numbers bring the county’s case total to 87,486 — 72,500 confirmed and 14,986 probable. The death toll is 804.

Advertisement

According to the county, 92 people were hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 346,290 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 209,242 — 26.1% of the county’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

Denton County

Denton County reported 87 cases Friday. No additional deaths were reported.

Advertisement

The newly reported cases bring the county’s case total to 72,583 — 53,763 confirmed and 18,820 probable. The death toll is 476.

According to the county, 38 people were hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 240,885 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 164,885 — 23.6% of the county’s population 16 and older — 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:

Advertisement
  • Rockwall County: 11,200 cases (9,128 confirmed and 2,072 probable), 151 deaths.
  • Kaufman County: 15,586 cases (13,111 confirmed and 2,475 probable), 247 deaths.
  • Ellis County: 22,237 cases (18,644 confirmed and 3,593 probable), 309 deaths.
  • Johnson County: 19,424 cases (16,595 confirmed and 2,829 probable), 361 deaths.
Connect with needs and opportunities from Get immediate access to organizations and people in the DFW area that need your help or can provide help during the Coronavirus crisis.