Texas adds a record 426 deaths; Dallas County reports 1,993 new cases of coronavirus, 17 deaths

17:44 updated: Review to include data in Tarrant County.

Dallas County on Thursday reported 1,993 new cases of coronavirus, as well as 17 additional deaths due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, a one-day record of 426 deaths due to the virus has been reported across Texas.

Six of Dallas County’s youngest victims were from Mesquite: two men in their 50s, a woman in her 50s who was a resident of a long-term care facility, a man and a woman in their 60s, and a man in his 50s. 90s who lived at a long-term care facility. Five other Dallas residents were: a woman in her 30s, a man in his 50s, two men in their 60s and a man in his 90s who lived in a long-term care facility.

The other victims were three Garland residents – a woman in her 50s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s who lived in a long-term care facility; a woman from Addison in her 70s; and a DeSoto woman and a Highland Park man in their 90s.

All in all, the DeSoto woman had underlying high-risk health conditions, officials said.

In a written statement, Judge Clay Jenkins urged residents to continue to take precautions against the spread of the virus.

“With only 20 adult ICU beds available in Dallas County, and the prediction of a difficult January and February ahead, it’s critical that you follow the advice of local doctors,” he said.

Of the new cases reported Thursday, 1,796 are confirmed and 197 likely. The newly reported cases bring the province’s total confirmed cases to 201,744 and probable cases to 25,878. The province recorded a total of 1829 COVID-19 deaths.

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, intensive care visits and emergency visits as key statistics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the country. In the 24-hour period that ended Wednesday, 1,204 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in County Dallas. During the same period, 564 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

Statewide data

Across the state, 24,325 more cases and a record 426 COVID-19 deaths were reported Thursday, including 24,015 new cases and 310 older cases recently reported by laboratories. Texas now has 2,045,699 cases and 31,050 deaths.

Of the new cases, 20,047 were confirmed and 3,968 likely. The state reported 1,794,545 confirmed cases and 251,154 probable cases.

There are 14,052 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 4,033 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. According to the state panel, 24.5% of the patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area are COVID-19 patients.

The average positivity rate of seven days across the country for molecular tests, based on the date of collection of the test sample, was 17.7% as of Wednesday. State health officials said the use of data based on when people were tested provided the most accurate positivity rate.

For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 11.1%.

Tarrant county

Tarrant County on Thursday reported 2,433 cases of coronavirus and ten new deaths.

The most recent victims include five Fort Worth residents: a woman in her 60s, two men in their 70s and two women in their 80s. The others were three Arlington women in their 50s, 70s and 80s, a Hurst man in his 60s and a North Richland Hills woman in her 70s.

The recently reported cases bring the province to 185,513, including 160,366 confirmed cases, 25,147 probable cases and 132,350 recoveries. The death toll stands at 1,787.

According to the numbers on Thursday on the country’s dashboard, 1,453 people are being admitted to hospital with the virus.

Collin county

The state on Thursday added 1,012 cases of coronavirus and 12 new COVID-19 deaths. The province has now posted 61,279 cases and a death toll of 451.

No details about the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 716 were confirmed and 296 likely. Collin County recorded 53,282 confirmed cases and 7,997 probable cases. According to state data, the country recorded 47,401 repairs.

The province’s coronavirus dashboard offers only total hospitalizations, now at 540.

Denton county

Denton County on Thursday reported 539 cases of coronavirus – of which 470 are active. No new deaths were reported.

The newly reported cases bring the province to 45,346, including 13,755 that are active and 31,354 that have been restored. They also increase the total molecular cases to 36,848 and antigen cases to 8,498.

The province’s death toll stands at 237.

There are 221 COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital, the province reported.

Other provinces

The Texas Department of Health Services 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: 8,045 cases (6,738 confirmed and 1,307 likely), 67 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 11,279 cases (9,838 confirmed and 1,441 likely), 148 deaths.
• Ellis County: 16,083 cases (14,197 confirmed and 1,886 likely), 188 deaths.
• Johnson County: 14,109 cases (12,591 confirmed and 1,518 probable), 196 deaths.