Dallas County Reports 20 More Coronavirus Deaths, Tying Its One-Day High

Updated at 5:55 pm: Revised to include Rockwall County.

Dallas County reported 20 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, as well as 1,000 additional cases.

It was the twelfth day in a row that the county reported 1,000 or more cases, and the single-day figure tied the county’s highest reported on June 30.

The latest victims included 16 Dallas residents: a man in his 40s, a man in his 50s, two men in his 60s, three men and three women in his 70s, four men and an woman in his 80s and a woman in his 90s. Three Of these, a man and woman in their 80s and a woman in their 90s lived in long-term care facilities.

A Cedar Hill woman in her 70s, two Duncanville men in her 50s and 70s and a Grand Prairie man in her 40s also died.

The new cases raise the county’s count to 35,914 cases, approximately 13.6 per 1,000 residents. There have been 477 deaths from COVID-19. The county does not report recoveries.

Statewide, a record 10,745 new confirmed cases were reported Tuesday, along with 87 additional deaths. The positive case rate also rose to nearly 17%, also a new high for Texas.

Hospitalizations are now doubling every two weeks and infection rates have skyrocketed after Governor Greg Abbott, who embarked on what had been one of the most aggressive reopens in the United States.

In Dallas County, 730 coronavirus patients were hospitalized on Monday and there were 584 visits to the emergency room for COVID-19, accounting for about a third of the visits. While those numbers are slightly lower than what the county last reported (783 hospitalizations and 730 emergency department visits on Friday), authorities said the decrease is due in part to a reporting problem.

The county continues to see a “significant spread” of the virus, County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement.

“Our hospitals and health heroes are feeling the strain as COVID-19 hospitalizations remain high,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins said doctors recommend that people only leave their homes for the necessary trips, and said that people should visit the county’s coronavirus website for guidance on what activities are safe.

“This guide was produced by leaders in public health, infectious diseases and epidemiology and their recommendations are based on our current level of community outreach,” he said.

Tarrant county

Tarrant County reported 531 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday. For the second consecutive day, the county did not report any additional deaths from COVID-19.

The county has recorded 19,014 cases, approximately nine per thousand residents and 272 deaths.

There are 645 people hospitalized with the virus, and 9,031 people have recovered from it, according to county data.

Collin County

Three additional deaths from coronavirus were reported Tuesday in Collin County, all among residents of long-term care facilities.

Two 60-year-old men died, one in a hospital and the other in Mustang Creek Memory Care. A man in his 80s died at Arbor Hills Memory Care, where 25 residents tested positive for COVID-19 last month.

The deaths bring the county’s death toll to 61.

The county also reported 115 new cases of the virus and said there are 179 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Collin County has seen 4,800 confirmed cases, about 4.6 per 1,000 residents, and 3,822 recoveries.

Denton County

Denton County reported a record increase in a single day of new coronavirus cases, 154, and its 41st death on Tuesday.

The victim was a Denton man over the age of 80, authorities said.

The county has reported 4,316 cases, or about 4.9 per 1,000 residents, and 2,357 recoveries.

108 people remain hospitalized with the virus, according to county data.

The Denton County Department of Public Health announced that it is moving to a new system to report recoveries from the virus.

“As of today, DCPH is transitioning to a hybrid system that uses case interview data and a very conservative algorithm to report recoveries,” said department director Dr. Matt Richardson in a written statement. “This algorithm uses an eight-week post-start window that exceeds the state recovery projection to capture the recovered individuals that we were unable to reach.”

Other counties

In Rockwall, a police officer is fighting COVID-19, Chief Max Geron tweeted Tuesday morning. He asked for prayers for the officer, and also asked that people wear masks in public.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has been tasked with reporting coronavirus cases in several North Texas counties, and they may not report updated totals every day.

The last numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 507 cases, 17 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 1,061 cases, five deaths.
• Johnson County: 885 cases, four deaths.

Associated Press contributed to this report.