A Southern Methodist University employee has tested positive for COVID-19, the school confirmed Sunday.
The employee works in the Annette Simmons building and was last seen on campus on June 2, according to a letter dated June 9 signed by Sheri Starkey, SMU's associate vice president and chief human resources officer.
SMU officials said the employee told them they did not have any close contact with anybody on campus. The university said it is cleaning and sanitizing the area where the employee worked.
This news comes as Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed there are currently 2,287 confirmed Texan COVID-19 patients in hospital beds as of 3 p.m., a record number since hospitalizations started being tracked. The number of patients reported Saturday was 2,242.
In addition, Tarrant, Dallas and Denton counties all reported new cases of COVID-19 Sunday.
Tarrant County Public Health reported three more deaths due to coronavirus and 81 new cases of the virus Sunday, bringing the total number of cases to 7,334 in the county and 197 deaths. The number of recoveries is at 3,158 and the number of hospitalizations is at 204.
The victims all had underlying health conditions officials said. They include:
- An Arlington woman in her 50s
- A Fort Worth man in his 40s
- A Fort Worth woman in her 60s
Later Sunday, Dallas County health officials reported 302 more cases of coronavirus and one death, a decline in new cases that broke a four-day record of case increases.
Sunday's total brings Dallas County's total case count to 14,232, including 284 deaths. The latest victim was a Dallas resident in his 50s.
In Denton County, health officials reported 17 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total case count to to 1,736 confirmed cases.
Two people also recovered from the disease in Denton County, bringing the total number of recoveries to 942 people since tracking began in March.
According to Texas DSHS numbers, the past seven days was the first time Texas has averaged more than 25,000 COVID-19 test results per day.
Grayson County health officials also reported five additional cases of COVID-19, with patients in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. All five patients are currently isolated.
Van Zandt County also reported two more cases Sunday, bringing the county total to 50.