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For the first time ever, Tarrant County is reporting more than 900 new daily cases of COVID-19. Health officials reported 938 new cases Thursday and eight additional deaths.
This brings the total death count to 753 deaths since tracking began in March.
The next highest single-day case total for Tarrant County was on July 23, when the county reported 871 new cases.
Tarrant County did report 1,436 cases on Aug. 16, but that was due to a backlog of cases released by the state, most of which were at least one month old.
Throughout this week, the county has been reporting more than 500 patients hospitalized due to coronavirus. There were 510 patients reported Monday, as of now there are currently 527.
The highest number of patients was reported Tuesday, with 544 people in county hospitals.
The state reported 133 new deaths and 8,332 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. So far, 18,453 people have died from COVID-19 in Texas and there have been 934,994 confirmed cases since tracking began in March.
Dallas County reports 868 total new cases, 6 deaths
Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 868 total new cases of COVID-19 Thursday. According to County Judge Clay Jenkins, 601 of those cases are confirmed positive cases and 267 of those cases are from antigen tests.
Those test numbers put the county at 99,761 cumulative positive cases since tracking began in March and at 7,601 probable cases.
The six deaths reported Thursday include:
- An Irving man in his 40s who had been critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions
- A Dallas woman in her 50s who lived in a long-term care facility who was critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions
- A Dallas man in his 60s who was critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions
- An Irving woman in her 70s who was critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions
- A Grand Prairie woman in her 80s who was critically ill in an area hospital and had underlying high-risk health conditions
- A Garland woman in her 90s who had been hospitalized and had underlying high-risk health conditions
Those six deaths put the county at 1,127 deaths since March.
Collin County reports 291 new cases, 3 more deaths
Collin County reported 291 new positive cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths Thursday. The county now has 19,480 cumulative total cases of COVID-19 since tracking began in March, 1,471 of which are currently active. The three new deaths reported Thursday puts the county at 193 deaths from the virus since tracking began in March.
The county is now reporting 177 patients hospitalized from COVID-19.
Denton County reports 207 new cases, 131 of which are active
Denton County Public Health reported 207 new positive COVID-19 cases Thursday, 131 of which are active. Thursday's total places the cumulative countywide total number of cases at 17,842 cases since tracking began in March. Those 131 active cases are part of a total of 3,228 current active cases.
So far, 138 people have died from the virus in Denton County since tracking began in March.
The county also reported 116 newly recovered cases Thursday, putting the number of recoveries in the county at 14,476.
DCPH is providing a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing center on Friday, November 6 at the University of North Texas’ Discovery Park, located at 3940 N. Elm St in Denton. Eligible community members must reside in Denton County, must have pre-registered by calling 940-349-2585, and have not previously tested positive for COVID-19. Pre-registration is required and appointments are available starting at 8 a.m.
UNT cancels Saturday football game against Louisiana Tech due to COVID-19
The University of North Texas has canceled its football game against Louisiana Tech University originally scheduled for Saturday because of "a number of COVID-19 cases and subsequent contact tracing," UNT said Thursday.
The teams are trying to reschedule the game for Dec. 5.
Alvord ISD reports 20 active cases
Alvord ISD will continue to offer remote learning as an option to all of its students through Dec. 18. District officials said this is due to the recent increase of active COVID-19 cases.
As of Wednesday, the district is reporting 20 active cases. School officials said coronavirus is particularly affecting its 5th-grade students. Because of this, all fifth-grade students are required to do online learning until at least Nov. 16.
The district said in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, it is also encouraging elementary students to do remote learning until Nov. 30.
"Remote learning is our best available tool to prevent the spread of the virus at this time," Superintendent Randy Brown Alvord said.
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Sanger High School closes for the week
Sanger High School will remain closed for the rest of the week due to after a recent spike in cases on campus, district officials said.
According to the district's website, there are currently 7 cases of coronavirus being reported.
The school will conduct remote learning Thursday and Friday while the campus undergoes deep cleaning.
Any extracurricular activities that are not outdoors will be canceled or postponed.
All other campuses within Sanger ISD will remain open for in-person learning, district officials said.
Duncanville ISD employees to receive a one-time payment
Duncanville ISD employees will receive a one-time payment of $2,000 Friday. The district said the money is to show how grateful it is for its dedicated employees during the COVID-19 pandemic
The supplemental payment was approved by the Duncanville ISD Board of Trustees during the summer, officials said.
All district staff who were employed as of Sept. 1 will receive the payment.