Texas has now surpassed California in positive cases of the novel coronavirus, taking the second place spot behind New York, says Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
The state reported 3,840 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday and 138 additional confirmed deaths.
In Dallas County, health officials reported an additional 704 cases of COVID-19, of which 563 are from previous months due to the state's backlog. Health officials also reported that three more people have died.
The deaths include:
- A woman in her 60s, who was a resident a long-term care facility in Dallas and did not have underlying health conditions.
- A Dallas woman in her 70s, who had been critically ill and did not have underlying health conditions
- A Carrollton woman in her 90s, who had been critically ill and did have underlying health conditions
Thursday's numbers bring the countywide total to 79,426 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1,005 deaths.
Jenkins continues to encourage residents to give COVID-19 the "1-2-3 punch" by wearing masks, social distancing and washing your hands. He says doctors are still discouraging people from going to bars, gyms and events where social distancing is not possible.
Possible exposure reported at Fannin County Clerk's Office
The Fannin County Clerk's Office sent its employees home after a visitor at 800 E. 2nd Street in Bonham tested positive for COVID-19.
Tammy Biggar of the Fannin County Clerk’s Office said the possible COVID-19 exposure occurred on Sept. 15 and 16.
An employee experiencing symptoms is being tested, according to officials. All other employees have been instructed to vacate the offices until a professional cleaning is completed Friday.
In the meantime, county officials said there will be two election deputies on-site in a mobile unit to accept ballots by mail and voter registration cards. Those same deputies will also have applications available to hand out.
When arriving on-site voters can call 903-583-7488 to speak with the elections division and drop off those items.
The county clerk's office said additional information will be released in the next two days.
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Collin County reports 3 deaths, 150 cases
Health officials in Collin County reported 150 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, and three additional deaths.
According to the state's dashboard, 141 residents have died from COVID-19 since tracking began in March.
Denton County reports 91 cases
Denton County Public Health announced 91 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday afternoon, of which 62 are currently active. This brings the countywide total to 11,861 cases, including 109 deaths and 10,217 recoveries since tracking began in March.
DCPH will be hosting a free drive-thru testing center Tuesday, Sept. 29 at Westside Baptist Church at 900 Bellaire Boulevard in Lewisville. It will open at 8 a.m. If you would like to get tested, you must pre-register by calling 940-349-2585.
Tarrant County reports 2 deaths, 587 cases
Tarrant County health officials reported 587 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday, of which 286 are from the state's backlog. They also reported two COVID-19 deaths Thursday.
The victims include a woman from Benbrook in her 90s and a man from Arlington in his 90s. Officials said both victims had underlying health conditions.
There have been 643 confirmed deaths since tracking began in March. More than 400 of those deaths were victims who were 65 years old and older, according to the county's public COVID-19 data.
This brings the countywide total to 48,504 cases, including 42,141 recoveries.
Big 12 conference openers include 1st games for Baylor, TCU
The Big 12 is ready to open conference play in its 25th season. All 10 teams are set to play in league games Saturday.
TCU and Baylor will be playing their season openers after being unable to play their scheduled non-conference games because of COVID-19.
Among the games, Kansas State is at No. 3 Oklahoma. The Sooners last season had their five-year road winning streak ended in a 48-41 loss at K-State.
Dave Aranda will make his head coaching debut at Baylor against Kansas and his former boss Les Miles.
TCU tries for its 19th consecutive home-opening win against Iowa State.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
