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Dallas County adds 3 COVID-19 deaths and 178 cases, records least deadly week of the year

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4 years ago

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DALLAS, TX – Dallas County reported three more COVID-19 deaths and 178 new coronavirus cases Saturday.

The latest victims included a Coppell man in his 50s and a Dallas woman in her 50s who had both been critically ill in area hospitals. A Mesquite woman in her 50s died in the emergency department of an area hospital. All three victims had underlying health conditions.

County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that this was the least deadly week of the year for COVID-19. The decrease in deaths over the last four weeks is largely due to older people getting the vaccine, he said. However, he noted the county is seeing younger people with serious COVID-19 cases.

“I was walking blocks this morning and had the opportunity to visit with several people who had not been vaccinated but would greatly benefit from vaccination,” Jenkins said. “They are going to get vaccinated today and Monday. But it’s impossible for us to talk one-on-one with everyone, so please do all that you can to encourage your friends who are unvaccinated to get vaccinated just as soon as possible.”

Of the new cases, 169 were confirmed and nine were probable. The numbers bring the county’s overall case total to 300,439, including 258,609 confirmed and 41,830 probable. The death toll is 3,928.

The average number of new daily cases in the county for the last two weeks is 223. For the previous 14-day period, the average was 242.

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 Friday, 184 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 408 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.

According to the state, 1,029,040 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 768,878 — 37.9% of the county’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

Texas

Across the state, 2,190 more cases were reported Saturday, including 1,949 new cases and 241 older ones recently reported by labs.

The state also reported 45 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 49,572.

Of the new cases, 1,445 were confirmed and 504 were probable. Of the older cases, 206 were confirmed and 35 were probable.

The state’s case total is now 2,903,694, including 2,485,695 confirmed and 417,999 probable.

There are 2,508 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 507 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Friday, 3.1% 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 4.7% as of Friday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 3%. 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, 11,402,111 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 8,594,479 — 38.3% of the state’s population 16 and older — are fully vaccinated.

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