Dallas County reported 26 more COVID-19 deaths and 458 new coronavirus cases Friday. The victims were mostly in their 60s and older, but one was a man in…

Dallas County reported 26 more COVID-19 deaths and 458 new coronavirus cases Friday.
The victims were mostly in their 60s and older, but one was a man in his 30s. Nineteen were men and seven were women, and only two both men in their 80s did not have underlying high-risk health conditions.
Twelve of the victims were from Dallas and seven were Garland residents. Two were from DeSoto, and one each lived in Duncanville, Irving, Lancaster, Mesquite and Richardson.
County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement that residents should continue following the advice of medical experts, including wearing masks and avoiding get-togethers, while the number of people getting vaccinated continues to grow.
Of the new cases, 323 were confirmed and 135 were probable. The numbers bring the countys overall case total to 283,638, including 247,349 confirmed and 36,289 probable. The death toll is 3,097.
Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive-care admissions and emergency room visits as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period that ended Thursday, 382 COVID-19 patients were in acute care in hospitals in the county. During the same period, 376 ER visits were for symptoms of the disease.
According to the state, 324,861 people in Dallas County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 185,777 9.2% of the countys population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Texas
Across the state, 6,853 more cases were reported Friday, including 5,913 new cases and 940 older ones recently reported by labs.
The state also reported 256 COVID-19 deaths, raising its toll to 44,134.
Of the new cases, 4,277 were confirmed and 1,636 were probable. Of the older cases, 786 were confirmed and 154 were probable.
The states case total is now 2,678,295, including 2,314,187 confirmed and 364,108 probable.
There are 5,065 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 1,221 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. On Thursday, 7.3% of patients in the hospital region covering the Dallas-Fort Worth area were COVID-19 patients below the 15% threshold the state has used to define high hospitalizations.
The seven-day average positivity rate statewide for molecular tests, based on the date of test specimen collection, was 8.2% as of Thursday. For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 4.1%. A molecular test is considered more accurate and is sometimes also called a PCR test; an antigen test is also called a rapid test. Gov. Greg Abbott has said a positivity rate above 10% is cause for concern.
According to the state, 4,053,836 people in Texas have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 2,238,790 10.0% of the states population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Tarrant County
Tarrant County reported 37 deaths and 401 cases Friday.
The latest victims were mostly in their 50s or older, but one was a man in his 20s and one was a woman in her 30s. Twenty-one were men and 16 were women, and all but four had underlying high-risk health conditions.
Thirteen were Fort Worth residents, six were from Arlington and three lived in Mansfield. Two each were from Crowley, Haltom City, Hurst and North Richland Hills, and one each lived in Azle, Grapevine, Keller, Pelican Bay, Saginaw, Southlake and an unincorporated area.
Tarrant County has been reporting higher numbers of deaths on Fridays because of when it receives death certificate data from the state. Twenty-six of the latest victims died in February, 10 died in January and one died in December.
Of the new cases, 263 were confirmed and 138 were probable, and the county said 103 were backlogged cases that were more than a month old. The numbers bring the countys case total to 244,632, including 207,651 confirmed and 36,981 probable. The death toll is 2,967.
According to the county, 400 people were hospitalized with the virus as of Thursday.
According to the state, 245,595 people in Tarrant County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 169,044 10.6% of the countys population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Collin County
The state added four deaths and 104 cases to Collin Countys totals Friday.
No details about the latest victims were available.
Of the new cases, 76 were confirmed and 28 were probable. The numbers bring the countys case total to 83,820, including 70,260 confirmed and 13,560 probable. The death toll is 744.
According to the county, 282 people are hospitalized with the virus.
According to the state, 151,341 people in Collin County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 92,272 11.4% of the countys population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Denton County
Denton County reported four deaths and 449 cases Friday.
The latest victims were all men older than 80, from Carrollton, Hackberry, Lewisville and Little Elm.
The newly reported cases bring the countys case total to 66,842, including 50,358 confirmed and 16,484 probable. The death toll is 425.
According to the county, 83 people are hospitalized with the virus.
According to the state, 111,786 people in Denton County have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while 67,267 9.6% of the countys population 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
Other counties
The Texas Department of State Health Services has taken over reporting for these other North Texas counties. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.
The latest numbers are:

  • Rockwall County: 10,703 cases (8,798 confirmed and 1,905 probable), 133 deaths.
  • Kaufman County: 14,960 cases (12,739 confirmed and 2,221 probable), 223 deaths.
  • Ellis County: 21,338 cases (18,097 confirmed and 3,241 probable), 284 deaths.
  • Johnson County: 18,748 cases (16,150 confirmed and 2,598 probable), 332 deaths.