DALLAS — Dallas County and Texas both are reporting an uptick in COVID-19 cases and deaths as the Delta variant continues to spread in the area.
Dallas County Health and Human Services reported nearly 1,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, as well as five deaths, which included a teenage girl.
The exact new case count for Wednesday is 989, which includes 747 confirmed cases and 242 probable cases. This is the closest Dallas County has been to 1,000 cases since local health officials reported 1,020 cases on Feb. 11.
Since tracking began in March 2020, the county has reported 270,155 confirmed cases and 45,206 probable cases for COVID-19. So far, 4,191 Dallas County residents have died due to COVID-19.
All five of the deaths reported by the county were of people who had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying health conditions. In addition to the Dallas teenage girl, those deaths include:
- A Garland man in his 20s
- A Dallas woman in her 50s
- A Sunnyvale man in his 50s
- A Dallas woman in her 60s
Dallas County returned to the orange or "extreme caution" section of its COVID-19 risk level color-coded chart late Friday night, in part due to the ongoing spread of the Delta variant in the area.
County Judge Clay Jenkins tweeted Wednesday the Delta variant is now the predominant strain in North Texas. He cited a UT Southwestern model stating the county would have more than 600 new cases in a single day by Aug. 9.
"[The Delta variant] is highly contagious and causing great illness in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s," Jenkins tweeted. "The Delta variant is a serious threat to anyone who is unvaccinated."
Also on Wednesday, Baylor Scott & White Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in North Texas, announced it will be mandating that all employees, providers and volunteers get the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1.
On the same day, Texas as a state had 10,086 new cases Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. This is the most daily cases since state officials reported 10,378 new cases on Feb. 11.
Texas had fewer than 5,000 reported cases every day from March 3 through July 21.
The state's current 14-day average is 3,975.
The record-high average happened from Jan. 4-17 when it was 18,915.
Tarrant County adds 99 hospitalizations over past four days
There are currently 457 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Tarrant County, according to health officials. That's down from 458 the previous day. The county's current 14-day average is 333.
In the past four days, there have been 99 added hospitalizations in Tarrant County.
COVID patients currently make up 10% of the total hospital bed capacity.
Health officials reported 442 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. There have been 271,510 total cases in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
There were also eight additional COVID-19 deaths reported by officials, which included a Crowley man in his 40s and a Grapevine woman in his 80s.
As of Wednesday, 2,036,427 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Tarrant County.
Collin County reports more than 200 hospitalizations for first time since early March
Collin County health officials said the county currently has 201 COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Wednesday. This is up from 171 on Tuesday.
This is the first time there have been more than 200 reported daily hospitalizations since there were 237 on March 7.
The county's current 14-day hospitalization average is 147.
Health officials say COVID-19 patients make up 7% of Collin County's total hospital bed capacity.
There were also 413 new COVID-19 cases in Collin County on Wednesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
This is the most reported case since the state added 437 new cases on June 12.
The county's current 14-day case count average is 113. A record average of 708 happened from Dec. 31 to Jan. 13.
Denton County has 10 ICU beds available
Denton County health officials reported there are 10 ICU beds available in the county's hospitals. This is up from nine on Tuesday.
There are currently 57 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county, with a 14-day average of 45 hospitalizations.
Health officials reported 1231 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. There have now been 79,359 total cases in the county since tracking began in March 2020.
As of Monday, 206,736 people in Denton County have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 197,528 have received their second dose.
