For the latest on the pandemic in North Texas, visit KERA News' COVID-19 Live Updates page.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Denton County Reports 349 New Cases And Nine Deaths
Denton County Public Health reports 349 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the countywide total to 63,994 cases. The county also reports nine additional deaths.
“Today, as we report nine more individuals who’ve passed away from COVID-19, we ask you to pray for their families and friends,” Denton County Judge Andy Eads said in a statement. “Though our vaccinations are quickly increasing, we should all continue practicing public health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Denton County.”
Dallas County Reports 570 New Cases And 10 Deaths
Dallas County Health and Human Services reports 570 more positive COVID-19 cases today. That brings the county's cumulative total to 245,278 confirmed cases. Dallas County has seen a total of 2,951 deaths due to COVID-19 illness.
“The provisional seven-day average of daily new confirmed and probable cases... was 226, but that number was significantly impacted by reduced testing due to the severe weather conditions and power grid collapse in Texas," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a statement. "Next week we should have a better handle on our actual numbers. I am hopeful that based on the number of hospitalizations that we have seen this week, our numbers of new COVID positive cases are continuing to trend down."
175 New Cases In Collin County
The state health website added 175 new COVID-19 cases in Collin County today.
Tarrant County Reports 645 New Cases And 13 Deaths
The county reports 645 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing its total COVID-19 case count to 241,650. Tarrant County also reports 13 more deaths, bringing the countywide total to 2,854 confirmed deaths from the COVID-19.
Texas Administers More Than 5 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
Across the state, more than 5 million doses have now been administered, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. More than 1.6 million Texans are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and more than 3.3 million have received at least one dose.
Currently, only certain groups are eligible for vaccination in Texas, including health care workers, residents at long-term care facilities and people with certain chronic health conditions.
Friday, Feb. 26
Dallas County Reports 18 Deaths, 726 New Cases
The county now has a total of 2,941 deaths. Friday's deaths included people who ranged in age from their 50s to their 80s, and all but four had underlying high-risk health conditions.
Tarrant County Reports 23 Deaths
The county now has a total of 2,841 deaths. Of the 23 deaths reported on Friday, eight happened in January and 15 in February. Tarrant County also reported 589 new cases.
Denton County Reports 526 New Cases
Of the 526 new cases reported by the county, 483 are active cases. This increases the cumulative, countywide total to 63,648 cases. Denton County also reported 273 newly recovered cases, increasing the countywide recovery total to 50,944.
Collin County Judge Rescinds COVID-19 Disaster Declaration
Judge Chris Hill rescinded the local disaster declaration he originally issued in March 2020 in response to the pandemic. According to the proclamation, there will be no county-issued emergency orders, forced closures, or government mandates in the county with the rescinded order.
However, that doesn't mean people should stop wearing masks. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide mask mandate in July, and that order supersedes any local orders.
“Any restrictions that the county may have had in place would have applied only to unincorporated areas of the county, and only if they did not conflict with the Governor’s orders and restriction,” a spokesperson for the county told CBS 11 News.
Case counts and deaths have been on the decline in recent weeks. Collin County has a total of 69,745 positive cases and 716 deaths.
Texas Unemployment Claims Have Fallen For The Sixth Week In A Row
The U.S. Labor Department reports more than 35,000 Texans applied for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ending Feb. 20. That's down from nearly 43,000 the week before.
Despite the decline, applications for jobless relief remain well above pre-pandemic levels. The Texas Workforce Commission says more than 1.1 million people in the state got an unemployment check in the last 10 days.
Statewide Program Will Launch To Vaccinate Home-Bound Seniors
Gov. Greg Abbott said a new statewide program to vaccinate homebound seniors will launch on Monday. Abbott said more than 1,100 National Guard troops will deploy across Texas as part of this "Save Our Seniors" initiative.
“Initially, we thought that for the first week, we would have about 8,000 vaccines to administer," Abbott said. "Because of the approval of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, it may turn out to be two, three, or four times that amount of vaccines that will be available.”
Thursday, Feb. 25
Dallas County Reports 614 New Cases
Another 614 new cases in the area raises the total to 244,335. Of the cases reported today, 488 are confirmed. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said today’s case numbers are higher than previous days due to the lack of testing from the winter storm. He said the death count should decline:
“The trends are good and the numbers are moving in the right direction. Our death totals should begin to decline. The number of deaths are a result of the number of COVID positive cases in the previous month. As the numbers of COVID positive cases are trending lower, the number of deaths will also decline.”
An additional 24 deaths were also reported today.
758 New Cases In Tarrant County
There are 758 more cases, bringing the total to 240,416. A total of 2,818 deaths and 219,208 people have recovered from the virus in the area.
Denton County Reports 556 Additional Cases
An additional 556 cases raises the total to 63,122. Of the cases reported today, 430 are active.
The county also reported 458 newly recovered cases, increasing the countywide recovery total to 50,671.
142 New Cases In Collin County
There are 142 additional cases, increasing the total to 69,453. A total of 712 people have died from the virus in the area.
House Colleagues Pay Tribute To Ron Wright
U.S. House members are paying tribute to late Congressman Ron Wright. The Arlington Republican died earlier this month after he was hospitalized for complications from cancer and COVID-19.
Speaking on the House floor Wednesday, Democratic Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas remembered Wright as an energetic and bright presence.
"In his death, Congress has lost a statesman, Texas has lost a dedicated representative, and I have lost a dear friend," Johnson said.
A special election to fill Wright's seat in the 6th Congressional District is scheduled for Saturday, May 1.
Several candidates have launched campaigns for the seat, including Wright's widow, Susan.
Globe Life Field Opens As A Mass Vaccination Site. Some Say Distribution Was Confusing.
Globe Life Field in Arlington opens as a COVID-19 mass vaccination site Friday. It follows Wednesday’s opening of a mass vaccination site at Fair Park in Dallas.
Adrianne McMullen said she was happy to receive her first dose, but she found the process a bit confusing.
“A lot of people are suggesting, you know, that we have a lot more signage and that maybe some of their volunteers — that were at the vaccine site — direct them or let them know what the situation is.”
Local and federal agencies will use both sites to target vaccines to people in vulnerable populations.
Dallas County Releases Schedule For Vaccine Distribution At Fair Park Drive-Thru Site
Vaccine distributions will continue at Dallas County’s Fair Park drive-thru site this week, following closures due to the winter storm last week.
The county released a schedule for those receiving their second doses.
Second doses of the vaccine may be administered up to six weeks after the first dose, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Wednesday, Feb. 24
State Receives Delayed Vaccine Shipments
Texas officials say 1.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have arrived in the state after last week's winter storm delayed shipments.
Imelda Garcia, with the Department of State Health Services, expects providers to make up for lost time.
"Honestly hearing the big efforts that all our providers are doing in order to double up efforts to keep up on first and second doses this coming week," Garcia said. "I think probably in a week and a half we should be able to be caught up."
Garcia said about 1,000 vaccine doses were lost due to the storm.
Dallas County Reports 25 More Deaths, 789 New Cases
With today's new cases there have been a total of 243,847 confirmed cases in the county, including 2,899 deaths.
"The numbers are hopefully returning to a more normal outlook on where we are as a community after several days of artificially low numbers from the lack of testing and reporting during last week’s storm," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on Twitter.
The individual's whose deaths were reported today ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s. All but two had underlying, high risk health conditions.
In Tarrant County, 11 More Deaths & 470 New Cases
The 470 new cases reported in Tarrant County today bring the cumulative, countywide total to 239,658, including 2,805 deaths.
The 11 people whose death was reported today ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s. All had underlying health conditions.
575 New Cases In Denton County
There are 575 new cases of COVID-19 in Denton County today, of which 525 are active cases. This increases the cumulative, countywide total to 62,566 cases, including 398 deaths.
FEMA Vaccine Sites Open Today At Fair Park, Globe Life Field
Two mass vaccination sites operated by the federal government and local officials are opening in North Texas.
One is opening today at Fair Park in Dallas. The other is at Arlington's Globe Life Field.
In Dallas County, Judge Clay Jenkins said federal and county workers will team up to get vaccinations to people from several underserved communities.
"They're going to be providing 3,000 first doses a day of Pfizer vaccine to these underserved communities for three weeks," Jenkins said. "And then, 3,000 second shots a day for the underserved communities for an additional three weeks."
Jenkins said he hopes the federal government will consider extending the partnership, so that more North Texans can get immunized as quickly as possible.
Dallas and Tarrant counties will receive a smaller allotment of COVID-19 vaccine from the state this week — about 20,000 fewer doses than expected, according to Jenkins.
The Texas Department of State Health Services says that reduction was due to the number of shots granted to both counties because of the two federally-run sites.
South Dallas In-Person Vaccine Registration Events Today
The City of Dallas is hosting community Vaccine registration sites today from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. targeting Phase 1A and 1B residents (healthcare workers and people 65 years and up or those with underlying medical conditions).
Facial coverings and social distancing protocols will be strictly enforced.
Those locations are:
- Highland Hills Library 6200 Bonnie View Rd., Dallas, Texas 75241
- Fiesta Parking Lot 3434 W Illinois Avenue Dallas, Texas 75211
- Glenview Shopping Center Parking Lot 1207 E. Red Bird Land Dallas, Texas 75241
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Dallas County Could Reach "Herd Immunity" By Mid-June
Dallas County could reach COVID-19 “herd immunity” by mid-June. That’s according to estimates from the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation. The center projects 80 percent of Dallas County residents will have had COVID-19 or been vaccinated by early summer.
Herd immunity happens when a disease is unlikely to spread because enough people are immune to it.
The Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation is affiliated with Parkland Hospital. Experts at Parkland, UT Southwestern, and the Dallas County Health Department reviewed its analysis of herd immunity.
PCCI’s analysis, as of Feb. 22, indicates that the county has already reached 44 percent of the 2.6 million adult residents of Dallas County as either recovered from COVID-19 or in the process of receiving their full COVID-19 vaccine. That includes 922,460 COVID-19 confirmed and presumed infected and recovered, and 270,642 residents who have received their first (154,766) and second (115,875) vaccine shot.
On Tuesday, the county reported 18 deaths and 412 new cases. The 18 deaths bring the cumulative total to 2,874. Tuesday's deaths include people who ranged in age from their 30s to their 90s, and all but six had underlying high-risk health conditions. Six people were residents of long-term care facilities.
Tarrant County Reports Five Deaths
The deaths include a woman from Haltom City who exceeded 90, a man from Arlington who exceeded 90, a woman from Saginaw in her 80s, and two men from Fort Worth in their 50s. All had underlying health conditions.
Tarrant County now has 2,794 confirmed deaths and 215,821 people have recovered. The county reported 368 new cases on Tuesday.
Denton County Reports 837 Cases
Denton County reported 837 new cases, 704 of which are active cases. The county also reported 872 newly recovered cases, bringing the county total to 49,675.
Dallas YMCA Will Host Free Vaccine Registration Clinics
The Dallas YMCA, in partnership with Dallas County Health and Human Services, will host free vaccine registration clinics at select branches starting Wednesday and continuing weekly through March 24.
Shots will not be administered at these clinics — they are specifically for helping senior and vulnerable populations register for vaccine appointments. The clinics are open to the pubic and will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following YMCA branches:
- Feb. 24: Moorland Family YMCA at Oak Cliff, 6701 S. Hampton Road, Dallas
- March 3: Grand Prairie YMCA, 4556 S. Carrier Parkway, Grand Prairie
- March 10: Lake Highlands YMCA, 8920 Stults Road, Dallas
- March 17: Richardson YMCA, 821 Custer Road, Richardson
- March 24: Semones YMCA,4332 Northhaven Road, Dallas; and Park South YMCA, 2500 Romine Avenue, Dallas
Fair Park Vaccine Site Closed Today
Dallas County’s Fair Park vaccine site is closed today. County health officials say they have not yet received their next shipment of Moderna vaccine.
In a statement, officials said they expect to receive the shipment by late morning or early afternoon today — but once received, it will need to be thawed for several hours.
The site will reopen Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and will only service people who were due for second doses on or before Feb. 16. On Thursday, the site will see individuals due for their second dose on or before Feb. 17.
FEMA and the City of Dallas will also begin administering vaccines at the Fair Park site Wednesday. They will be offering first doses to those with appointments.According to the city, to be eligible for one of these vaccines you must live in one of the following ZIP codes: 75042, 75061, 75150, 75210, 75211, 75212, 75215, 75216, 75217, 75220, 75224, 75227 75228, 75231, 75237, 75241, 75243.
Houston Vaccine Megasite Opening For Soft Launch Today
One of three federal COVID-19 mega vaccination sites in Texas is doing a soft launch today, before officially opening tomorrow.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the site at Houston's NRG Park is expected to vaccinate 6,000 people per day.
"It will operate for three weeks, before transitioning to second doses for three week," Hidalgo said. "So, that means in total 126,000 individuals are expected to be fully vaccinated.”
The other FEMA mega sites in Dallas and Arlington are expected to open Wednesday. According to the latest state data, more than 1.3 million Texans are fully vaccinated.
Monday, Feb. 22
Dallas County Reports 18 Deaths, 348 New Cases
The deaths give the county a cumulative total of 2,856. Monday's deaths included people who ranged in age from their 50s to their 90s, and all but three people had underlying high-risk health conditions. Two of the deaths were residents of long-term care facilities.
Meanwhile, operations have been temporarily halted at the Fair Park vaccine mega-clinic because the vaccine supply has run out. The county was only administering second doses. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he hopes more doses will arrive on Tuesday.
Tarrant County Reports 22 Deaths
The deaths include a woman from Arlington who exceeded 90, a man from Fort Worth who exceeded 90, a man from North Richland Hills who exceeded 90, a woman from Benbrook who exceeded 90, a woman from Keller who exceeded 90, a man from Arlington in his 80s, two men from Fort Worth in their 80s, a man from Wagauga in his 80s, a woman from Mansfield in her 80s, a woman from Watauga in her 80s, a woman from White Settlement in her 80s, a woman and a man from Fort Worth in their 70s, a man from Arlington in his 70s, a man from Colleyville in his 70s, a man from Euless in his 70s, a man from Haltom City in his 70s, a man from unincorporated Tarrant County in his 70s, a woman from Fort Worth in her 60s, and two men from Fort Worth in their 40s. All but one had underlying health conditions.
Tarrant County now has 2,789 confirmed deaths and 214,702 people have recovered. The county reported 415 new cases on Monday.
Denton County Reports 16 Deaths
The 16 deaths give the county a cumulative total of 398. The deaths included people who ranged in age from their 50s to their 80s, and four people were residents of long-term care facilities.
The county also reported 991 new cases after a backlog in reporting because of last week's storm.
Hospitalizations Drop To Their Lowest Point Since November
Hospitalizations in Texas due to the coronavirus dropped on Sunday to their lowest level since mid-November, according to data released Sunday by state health officials.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 7,146 hospitalizations. That is the lowest it has been since the 7,083 hospitalizations on Nov. 12. Hospitalizations have been steadily dropping since mid-January.
Texas has had more than 2.5 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, and more than 42,000 deaths due to COVID-19, the third highest death count in the United States, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day rolling average of new cases has fallen from nearly 18,980 per day to nearly 5,041 and the average of daily deaths has dropped from 305.7 per day to 127.3, according to the the COVID Tracking Project data.
During the past two weeks, the rolling average of daily new cases in Texas has fallen by 13,354, a decrease of 75.9%, according to the Johns Hopkins figures.
State Farm Classic Football Game Moved A Second Time
The football game between Grambling State and Prairie View A&M, which was originally moved to February from the fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been rescheduled again because of the recent winter storm and also moved to Globe Life Park in Arlington. The game will now be played on Saturday, March 13 at 3 p.m.
The State Farm Classic was originally scheduled for this Saturday, Feb. 27, and was to be played at Fair Park at the Cotton Bowl. However, because of the winter storm and the time needed to assess damage at the Cotton Bowl, the decision was made to move both the game time and the venue.
“Unfortunately, due to the impacts of the recent inclement weather and the time required to assess what is needed to get Cotton Bowl Stadium ready, we collectively agreed with the State Fair of Texas and the promoter that the prudent decision is to move the event,” says Peter Sullivan, general manager of Fair Park. “We look forward to hosting this great event again in the future.”
Tickets purchased for the original date will still be honored on March 13. Because of COVID-19, the game will be at a limited capacity of 25,000 spectators.
Sunday, Feb. 21
Dallas County Reports 22 More Deaths, 273 New Cases
There are 273 new COVID-19 cases and 22 additional deaths from the disease in Dallas County today. That brings the cumulative case total to 242,770 confirmed cases countywide. A total of 2,838 Dallas County residents have died from COVID-19 illness.
The individuals whose deaths were reported today ranged in age from their 30s to their 90s, all but three had underlying high risk health conditions.
10 More Deaths, 328 New Cases In Tarrant County
Tarrant County is reporting 328 new COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths today. There've been 238,405 cumulative cases in Tarrant County, including 2,767 deaths.
Of the 10 additional deaths reported today, all but two had underlying health conditions. The individuals ranged in age from their 60s to their 80s.
Texas COVID Vaccinations To Resume This Week
COVID-19 vaccines will begin to be administered once again across Texas this week — that’s after winter storms halted this week’s distribution efforts.
State health officials say nearly 600,000 doses are headed to more than 500 providers across the state.
That includes more than 80,000 doses being sent to large vaccine clinics in Houston, Dallas and Arlington.
They’re scheduled to open this week and will be run by the federal government in partnership with state and local officials.
The Denton County vaccine site at the Texas Motor Speedway will also reopen Wednesday, Feb. 24.
The state also says it’s ordering more than 360,000 doses intended as a second dose for people who were initially vaccinated a few weeks ago. According to officials, more than 3 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far, and more than 1 million people are now fully vaccinated
Meanwhile, several hundred thousand doses are still awaiting shipment to Texas due to weather conditions.
Read More: A Timeline Of COVID-19's Spread In North Texas
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