For the fourth time this week, Dallas County has reached a new record with the number of residents who tested positive for COVID-19.
Saturday afternoon, county health officials reported 345 new cases and 3 more deaths. The victims who died include a man in his 50s, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 90s.
“Today marks another record for the number of positive COVID19 cases, but remember, we are doing more testing and that will weigh into the increase in numbers. Of greater concern is the number of hospitalizations," Judge Clay Jenkins said.
Texas set another record for COVID-19 hospitalizations Saturday with 2,242 patients, according to data released.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reports the Dallas-Fort Worth area currently has 729 patients hospitalized due to the novel coronavirus.
On Monday, the number of hospitalized patients in the state was at 1,935.
The state has seen an increase in patients each day since the beginning of the week.
"Think of hospitalizations as the tip of the iceberg. There is much more ice under the water out of the hospital and that portion of the iceberg is growing as more and more people get infected from one another," Jenkins said.
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Tarrant County reports 3 additional deaths
Saturday afternoon, Tarrant County Public Health reported 3 additional deaths related to COVID-19.
The victims include a woman in her 80s from Mansfield, a man in his 50s from Hurst, and a woman in her 80s from Arlington.
Officials say all but one of the victims had underlying health conditions.
There have been 194 confirmed deaths and 3,110 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Tarrant County since testing began in March.
Kroger opens third testing site
On Monday, Kroger Health will open a third COVID-19 testing site in North Texas. This will be located at the 4833 block Village Creek Road in Fort Worth.
In addition to a new site opening, Kroger says two of their current sites will remain open through the end of June.
This includes testing at the Dallas CitySquare site and the initial Fort Worth site, located at J.P. Elder Middle School.
A spokesperson says the CitySquare site in South Dallas will be providing walk-up testing to better serve those without vehicle transportation.
Daily Dallas hospital capacity numbers
The city of Dallas released the following numbers as reported by the 25 hospitals Friday.
- Total beds: 6,065
- Beds occupied: 4,219
- Total ICU beds: 927
- ICU beds occupied: 653
- Total ventilators: 968
- Ventilators in use: 310
More on WFAA:
- COVID-19 hospitalizations trending upward this week, doctors closely monitoring
- Texas group homes struggling with operation costs amid coronavirus pandemic
- Ellis, Kaufman, Johnson, Rockwall counties set record-highs for new coronavirus cases
- North Texas continues to set record highs for new coronavirus hospitalizations, cases