Dallas County adds 1,850 cases of coronavirus as backlog in state reporting continues; Deaths in Texas exceed 10,000

Updated at 7pm: Revised to include Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman and Rockwall counties.

Texas surpassed 10,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths on Monday as the continuing toll of a massive summer outbreak continues, making the state the fourth to cross the grim milestone.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 51 new deaths Monday, along with more than 2,700 new cases. Figures have typically been lower on Monday due to delays over the weekend, and the state has reported hundreds of deaths in recent weeks.

However, because Texas does not add the deceased until death certificates have been submitted, many of the most recent deaths occurred weeks ago.

Recently, the state reportedly reported encouraging signs of hospitalization falling by the thousands since July and the rate of positive cases declining. Statewide, 6,200 people are hospitalized with the virus, including 1,146 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to the Department of State Health Services.

But the state is struggling with lags in other data because it catches a large backlog of tests that has caused counts to spike in Dallas and other area regions.

On Monday, Dallas County reported a large number of new cases for the second straight day because it addresses the backlog caused by a coding error by the state.

The county reported 1,850 cases – but “quite a number” of them were from June, County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement. His chief of staff, Lauren Trimble, said a detailed background of those cases would be available Tuesday.

The province also reported four more deaths. The victims were three Dallas residents – two women, in their 40s and 70s, and a man in his 70s – and a Richardson woman in her 70s.

The total of Dallas County has increased to 65,278 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 829 deaths. The province has also seen 2,519 probable cases, including seven probable deaths.

On Sunday, nearly 5,200 of the 5,361 reported cases were out of arrears, most from July.

“While at this point it is reasonable and understandable for people to be skeptical about the state’s reporting system, it is not reasonable to be skeptical about the science that is proving effective worldwide around the spread of COVID. 19 to control, ”Jenkins said, referring to such precautionary measures as masks and social distance.

Texas began one of the fastest reopens in the country in May before a subsequent rise in cases led Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to backtrack and impose a statewide mask order. August has seen an improved outlook, though Texas officials now worry that not enough people are seeking tests.

According to the State Health Department, there have been 542,950 cases of the virus and 10,034 deaths from it.

Texas joins New York, New Jersey and California as the other states to overcome 10,000 coronavirus deaths. Florida is also getting closer to 10,000 marks.

Jenkins said that if the state works to resolve its coding error, Dallas County expects several days more recapture of past cases.

He said people whose cases were backward got their results from the lab, but that no contact tracking was done on those cases because the information was lost in the state system.

He said the province is asking people who test positive to let their close contacts know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 because of the possibility that their results may not make it to the contact person for traces. A close contact is someone who has been within six feet of someone with the virus for more than 15 minutes, begins 48 hours before the onset of symptoms and lasts through the course of the disease.

Health officials said that due to weekend reporting, provincial hospitalization data, emergency room visits and ICU recordings will be available Tuesday.

Parkland Health & Hospital System said Monday that a baby girl born prematurely in May was the first case in Texas, and one of the first in the country in which COVID-19 was transmitted from mother to child in the disc.

The child, whose case is detailed in the September issue of The journal Pediatric Infectious Disease, was born at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 34 weeks of gestation. Although they did not show immediate respiratory symptoms, they tested positive for COVID-19 after one day and later developed mild symptoms.

The mother’s placenta showed evidence of coronavirus infection, leading researchers to the conclusion that the baby was infected in the womb.

The mother and children were discharged from the hospital after three weeks.

The hospital said in a written statement that out of more than 170 babies born to COVID-19-positive mothers as of Monday, only five positive tests for the virus after birth.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County officials on Monday reported 256 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the county’s total to 38,016.

Of those cases, 36,239 have been confirmed and 1,777 are likely, according to county data.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the province’s COVID-19 toll at 459.

The province says 381 patients remain hospitalized with the disease, while 29,362 have recovered.

Collin County

Three more coronavirus deaths were reported Monday in Collin County, along with 168 new cases.

The latest victims were an 87-year-old Plano woman, an 80-year-old Wylie man and a 96-year-old Wylie woman.

Their deaths increase the province’s toll to 101. There have been 10,169 confirmed cases of the virus, with 128 patients still hospitalized and 5,437 recovering.

Denton County

Denton County reported 127 new COVID-19 cases Monday.

No new deaths were reported, leaving the toll at 82.

There have been 8,427 coronavirus cases and 5,644 recurrences reported in the province. Thirty-three patients were admitted from Sunday.

Other counties

The Texas Department of State Health Services has taken over reporting for other North Texas counties. Some may not report daily updates.

The latest figures are:

• Rockwall County: 1,098 cases, 18 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 2,446 cases, 32 deaths.
• Ellis County: 3,255 cases, 51 deaths.
• Johnson County: 2,159 cases, 34 deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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