This story will be continuously updated on Aug. 17.
Texas hit another grim milestone on Monday: a COVID-19 death toll of more than 10,000 people.
Dallas County reported 1,850 additional cases, due to a backlog from the state health department's coding error from June, officials said. The county also reported seven additional deaths.
At 10,034 victims reported by state health officials, Texas will account for nearly 6% of the country's fatalities.
Roughly four in every five of those deaths have occurred since June 1. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 51 new deaths Monday, along with more than 2,700 new cases. Numbers are typically lower on Monday due to reporting lags over the weekends.
Researchers with Johns Hopkins University's widely respected Coronavirus Resource Center have tallied more than 170,000 deaths across the U.S. so far.
Dallas County has recorded 829 deaths related to COVID-19 since tracking began in March.
The latest deaths ranged in age from a Dallas woman in her 40s to a Richardson woman in her 70s.
"Once again we have a high number of cases coming in, this time from June, due to a coding error in the State’s electronic laboratory reporting system," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said.
"While at this point it is reasonable and understandable for people to be skeptical of the State’s reporting system, it is not reasonable to be skeptical of the science that is proving to be effective," including wearing a mask, social distancing and hand washing, Jenkins said.
Roughly 1.75% of all Texans have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. As of Sunday:
- 9,983 Texans have died
- 399,572 have recovered
- At least 125,487 people across the state are considered active cases
The marker comes at a moment when state data backlogs have continued to plague counties' tracing efforts.
Counties across the state have been reporting large backlogs of data from Texas officials for the past few days, with Dallas County officials reporting 5,195 additional cases Sunday from the past six months.
Top updates for Monday, Aug. 17:
- Congress has allocated trillions of dollars to ease the COVID-19 crisis, but many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money. Here's why.
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Denton County reports 127 additional cases
Denton County health officials reported 127 additional positive cases Monday, bringing the countywide total to 8,427 cases.
There were 271 additional recoveries, bringing recoveries to 5,644.
Hood County reports 44 active cases, nearly double prior week
County officials released new case data for the week Monday, saying there are currently at least 44 active cases in the area. That's nearly double the 23 cases of the prior week.
Six of those active cases are people who are currently hospitalized.
Three of the 44 active cases are people under the age of 20 in the county.
The county's positivity rate is 10.3%. Gov. Greg Abbott has repeatedly said the goal is to stay below a rate of 10%. A total of 709 people have tested positive since mid-March.
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Fourteen people have died while they had the disease in the county, and at least 11 of those were COVID-related, according to officials. Three of the deaths were reported in the last week, all of whom were over the age of 60.
Cook Children's releases COVID-19 numbers
There are six COVID-19 patients at Cook Children's, officials said Monday morning.
The current positivity rate is at 7%.
There have been 14,802 children tested and 1,029 were confirmed positive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Health experts recommend taking the following actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
- Wear a face covering.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Practice "social distancing" and stay at least 6 feet away from others and avoid large public gatherings
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
- If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty.
- Consult CDC’s travel website for any travel advisories and steps to protect yourself if you plan to travel outside of the U.S.
WFAA digital producer Jennifer Prohov contributed to this report.