Dallas County breaks record of 1 day by adding 2,842 new cases of coronavirus; 23 deaths were also announced

Dallas County reported 2,422 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, all of which were considered new. The province also reported 23 new COVID-19 deaths.

The case is in line with the previous one-day record of 2,512 cases announced on December 23.

The latest casualties include 14 Dallas residents. Three were women – one in her thirties and two in their 60s. The 11 others were men – three in their 40s, three in their 50s, two in their 60s, two in their 70s and one in his 80s.

The victims also included two people from Duncanville – a man in his 40s and a woman in her 60s; two Mesquite women in their 60s and 90s; two Irving residents – a man and a woman in their 70s; and a man from Sunnyvale in his 50s, a DeSoto man in his 60s and a Seagoville man in his 60s.

Eleven of those who died were found at home, two lived in long-term care facilities and one in a park.

“These deaths were spread over several weeks as the post-mortem examination and other prerequisites for their examination and announcement took time to complete,” Dallas Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement.

Jenkins reiterates his advice to avoid crowds and gatherings in an effort to stop the spread of the community.

“Our actions today will determine where the numbers are two weeks from now,” he said.

Of the new cases reported Saturday, 2,312 are confirmed and 530 likely. The province has now recorded 174,477 confirmed cases and 21,683 probable cases. The death toll is 1,651.

The province said it only considers positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as likely cases; some antibody and “household” results were previously included.

While other North Texas counties give estimates for how many people have recovered from the virus, Dallas County officials do not report recovery, noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not use that measure.

Health officials use hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care and emergency visits as key statistics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the country. In the 24-hour period ending December 31, 1,016 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals across the country. During the same period, 544 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

The county reported that 5,971 school-age children tested positive for COVID-19 at 756 different schools in Dallas County over the past 30 days.

More than two-thirds of all confirmed cases admitted to hospital so far were among people under 65, and diabetes was an underlying condition in about a third of all patients admitted to hospital, according to the province.

The country’s preliminary average of seven days of daily newly confirmed and probable cases for the week ending December 19 was 1,787. According to the province, the figure is calculated according to the date of the COVID-19 test collection.

Of the total confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the province, approximately 22% are related to long-term care facilities.

Statewide data

Across the state, 4,482 cases and 96 COVID-19 deaths were reported Saturday. Texas has now reported 1,777,246 cases and 27,867 deaths.

Of the new cases, 3,995 were confirmed and 487 probably. The state reported 1,568,034 confirmed cases and 209,212 probable cases.

There are 12,319 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 3,714 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The seven-day average positivity rate across the country for molecular tests, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 20.51% on Friday. State health officials said the use of data based on when people were tested was the most accurate percentage.

For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 12.92%.

Tarrant County reported 3,361 cases of coronavirus and 18 new deaths on Saturday.

The most recent deaths include six Arlington residents – two women in their 50s and 60s and four men in their 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s; four Fort Worth residents – three men in their thirties, forty and thirty, and a woman in her thirties; two people from Mansfield – a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s; two people from North Richland Hills – a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s; and an Azle man in his 70s, a Grand Prairie man in his 80s; a man from Haltom City in his 70s; and a Sansom Park man in his 70s.

A total of one victim had underlying health conditions, the province reported.

The recently reported cases bring the province to 153,365, including 134,011 confirmed cases, 19,354 probable cases and 110,335 recoveries. The death toll stands at 1,512.

According to Thursday’s numbers on the provincial dashboard, a record 1,399 people were admitted to hospital with the virus.

Collin county

The state on Saturday added 619 cases of coronavirus and four new COVID-19 deaths. The province has now posted 50,012 cases and a death toll of 377.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 563 have been confirmed and 56 likely. Collin County recorded 44,734 confirmed cases and 5,278 probable cases. According to state data, the province has 4,699 active cases and recorded 40,035 recoveries.

The province’s coronavirus dashboard offers only total hospitalizations, now at 519.

Denton county

Denton County reported 610 cases of coronavirus – of which 582 are active – and four new deaths Saturday.

The most recent deaths include a Frisco man in his 70s and three residents of Lewisville – a woman in her 60s and a man and woman who are both over 80.

The newly reported cases total the province’s case at 39,792, including 12,952 active and 26,622 recovering.

The province’s death toll stands at 218.

There are 944 patients who have hospitalized COVID-19, the province reports.

Other provinces

The Texas Department of Public Health has taken over reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some provinces, new data is not reported every day.

The latest numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 6,270 cases (5,208 confirmed and 1,062 likely), 54 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 9,306 cases (8,125 confirmed and 1,181 likely), 124 deaths.
• Ellis County: 13,261 cases (11,675 confirmed and 1,586 probable), 176 deaths.
• Johnson County: 11,135 cases (9,872 confirmed and 1,263 likely), 162 deaths.

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