20 Deaths, 1,311 New COVID-19 Cases Added Wednesday in Tarrant County; ICUs at 95%

Tarrant County Public Health added another 20 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday along with 1,311 new cases of the virus.

The latest 20 victims in Tarrant County include a man from Benbrook who was over 90, a woman from Southlake who was over 90, a woman from White Settlement who was over 90, a man from White Settlement in his 80s, a man from Hurst in his 80s, two women from Fort Worth in their 80s, two women from Mansfield in their 80s, a man from Arlington in his 80s, a woman from North Richland Hills in her 80s, a man from Arlington in his 70s, a man from Azle in his 70s, two men from Fort Worth in their 60s, a man from Everman in his 50s, a man and a woman from Arlington in their 50s, a man from Fort Worth in his 50s, and a woman from Fort Worth in her 40s.

All but two had underlying health conditions, the health department said.

Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?

County health departments have launched waitlists for adults 16 years old and over.

You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:

Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant

You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.

For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group in Texas, see this page from the Texas DSHS.

Tarrant County is also reporting Wednesday that total hospital occupancy in county hospitals is at 88% while ICU occupancy rose to 95% through Tuesday. Beds occupied by COVID-19 patients account for 18% of all patients in Tarrant County and for 15.69% of all patients in TSA-E, a decrease over the day before.

Tarrant County Public Health said there were 893 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals through Tuesday and that the 7-day average for COVID-19 patients was at 937. The number of hospitalized patients remains down from the high of 1,528 patients reached Jan. 6.

In the last seven days, the county has announced 8,556 new and probable cases of the virus or an average of 1,222 per day. Data from the county health department indicated there were 1,084 more confirmed cases Wednesday than the most recent report and 227 more probable cases. To date, the county has reported 198,635 confirmed cases of the virus and 33,657 probable cases for a total of 232,292 cases.

The county is also reporting another 2,421 estimated recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 193,286.

There are currently an estimated 36,477 active cases of the virus and 2,529 deaths from the virus in the county since March 2020.

TCPH said Monday, Feb. 8 that 212,756 doses of the vaccine had been administered in Tarrant County including 200,393 (94%) to Tarrant County residents and 12,363 (6%) to residents of other counties. TCPH said approximately 8% of the Tarrant County population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and that 2% have received two doses. Vaccine numbers are updated weekly on Mondays.

This week providers in the county received more than 25,000 first dose vaccines. To get on the vaccine waitlist, click the link in the box above.

Tarrant County, which has extended its mask mandate until Feb. 28, 2021, began reporting both probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in August 2020 at the request of the state health department. Probable cases, the county said, account for a variety of real-world situations and could highlight cases in the community that may otherwise go unreported.

COVID-19 causes a respiratory illness with cough, fever and shortness of breath and may lead to bronchitis, severe pneumonia or even death. For more information go to coronavirus.tarrantcounty.com or call the Tarrant County Public Health information line, 817-248-6299, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.