Dallas County adds 35 COVID-19 deaths, 383 cases; over 3 million in Texas have received 1st vaccine shot – The Dallas Morning News

Dallas County reported 35 COVID-19 deaths and 383 new coronavirus cases Wednesday. Officials said the numbers are artificially low because ongoing power outages have disrupted reporting.

The latest victims include 24 men and 11 women ranging from their 40s to their 90s. Fifteen people lived in Dallas, five in Grand Prairie, three in Garland, two each in Carrollton, Farmers Branch, Mesquite and Rowlett, and one each in Addison, Coppell, Irving and Richardson. All but four had underlying health conditions.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement Wednesday that he encourages residents to take refuge in friends homes or warming stations across the county amid the outages, while also maintaining social distance and masking requirements.

If your home is largely maintaining power, please do all you can to take in loved ones and help as many people as you can, Jenkins said. Now is the time to help one another and to keep our spirits up.

Of the new cases, 352 were confirmed and 31 were probable. The numbers bring the countys overall case total to 275,783, including 241,884 confirmed and 33,899 probable. The death toll is 2,701.

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 Tuesday, 601 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 309 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 248,497 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 101,202 are fully vaccinated.

Jenkins said in a tweet Wednesday evening that the Fair Park vaccination site would be closed through Saturday due to weather. Those who need second doses will be prioritized, he said.

Across the state, 3,766 more cases were reported Wednesday, including 3,506 new cases and 260 older ones recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 72 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 40,717.

Of the new cases, 2,563 were confirmed and 943 were probable. Of the older cases, 146 were confirmed and 114 were probable.

The states case total is 2,571,063, including 2,231,717 confirmed and 339,346 probable.

There are 7,609 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 2,122 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Tuesday, 13.38% 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 10.34% as of Tuesday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 3.9%. 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, 3,020,660 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 1,248,338 are fully vaccinated.

Tarrant County reported 18 COVID-19 deaths and 497 coronavirus cases Wednesday.

The latest victims include 11 men and seven women ranging from their 40s to older than 90. Nine people were from Fort Worth, three lived in White Settlement, and one each were from Bedford, Mansfield, Richland Hills, Saginaw, Southlake and an unincorporated part of Tarrant County. All had underlying health conditions.

Of the new cases, 378 were confirmed and 119 were probable. The numbers bring the countys case total to 236,461, including 201,930 confirmed and 34,531 probable. The death toll is 2,671.

According to the county, 740 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Wednesday.

According to the state, 171,211 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 90,618 are fully vaccinated.

The state added one COVID-19 death and 336 coronavirus cases to Collin Countys totals Wednesday.

No details about the latest victim was available.

Of the new cases, 252 were confirmed and 84 were probable. The numbers bring the countys case total to 80,777, including 68,399 confirmed and 12,378 probable. The death toll is 685.

According to the county, 329 people are hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 115,412 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 38,188 are fully vaccinated.

Denton County Public Health was closed Wednesday because of the weather and did not issue a coronavirus update.

The county last reported 60,167 total cases, including 46,439 confirmed and 13,728 probable. The most recently announced death toll is 382, and according to the countys last update, 115 people were hospitalized with the virus.

According to the state, 62,774 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 26,020 are fully vaccinated.

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.

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Dallas County adds 35 COVID-19 deaths, 383 cases; over 3 million in Texas have received 1st vaccine shot - The Dallas Morning News