Dallas County Adds 2,842 COVID-19 Cases, Tarrant County 3,361 In First Reports Of New Year
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Thousands of more COVID-19 cases were reported in North Texas on Saturday, with Dallas County also adding a new daily record high.
Saturday's case counts were the first reports of 2021 as the counties did not release data on Friday, Jan. 1.
Dallas County reported 2,842 cases, with 530 of them being considered probable. The county has now seen a total of 174,477 cases, which is the second highest in the state behind Harris County.
Twenty-three deaths were also reported in Dallas County, bringing that total to 1,651. Eleven of the patients were found dead inside their homes, while one, a man in his 40s, was found dead at a park. County Judge Clay Jenkins said the deaths happened over the last several weeks as autopsies and investigations were performed.
In Tarrant County, 3,361 cases were added, for a total of 153,365. The county also reported 18 deaths, increasing the total to 1,512. Officials said all but one of the patients who died had underlying health conditions.
Stephen Love, president of the Dallas/Fort Worth Hospital Council, said Saturday that there are currently 3,703 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the North Texas area (Trauma Service Area-E).
"We are at 25.8% of hospital capacity so every one out of every four patients is hospitalized with COVID-19," Love said in a statement to CBS 11 News. "The COVID-19 patients in adult ICU represent 48.5% of the total ICU patients."
Denton County also reported 610 cases and four deaths on Saturday, for totals of 39,792 cases and 218 deaths.
"The high number of cases in consistent with the UT Southwestern model that we will see increased numbers of cases and hospitalizations in early January. Our actions today will determine where the numbers are two weeks from now and so it is imperative that at this time of unprecedented high spread, we continue to wear our mask and make the smart decision to follow the advice of the CDC and the local doctors," Jenkins said in a statement.
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