Tarrant County Public Health added 38 more COVID-19 deaths Friday along with 2,350 new cases of the virus. Hospital occupancy in the county, meanwhile, is nearing 90% with ICUs at 98% capacity.
Of the deaths, TCPH said 31 are from December and seven are from January. The December deaths are only now being added after receiving new death certificate data from the state health department, which the county said last week they would receive every Friday while warning of higher than average numbers.
The latest victims of the virus in Tarrant County included nine people from Arlington, one from Azle, three from Bedford, 19 from Fort Worth, one from Lakeside, two from Mansfield, two from North Richland Hills and one from Watauga. All but four had underlying medical conditions.
Tarrant County Public Health said there were 1,488 COVID-19 patients in county hospitals through Thursday and that the 7-day average for COVID-19 patients was at 1,467. The number of hospitalized patients remains down from the high of 1,528 patients reached Jan. 6.
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Tarrant County is also reporting Friday that hospital occupancy in county hospitals is down 2% to 89%, and 98% in ICUs through Thursday. Beds occupied by COVID-19 patients account for 28% of all patients in Tarrant County and for 24.45% of all patients in TSA-E.
In the last seven days, the county has announced 17,133 new and probable cases of the virus or an average of 2,448 per day. Data from the county health department indicated there were 2,020 more confirmed cases than the most recent report and 330 more probable cases. To date, the county has reported 162,386 confirmed cases of the virus and 25,447 probable cases for a total of 187,863 cases.
On Thursday, TCPH also reported having administered 19,107 vaccinations to date at its Resource Connection and Northeast Tarrant County vaccination clinics. Updated vaccination numbers were not provided Friday.
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.
The county is also reporting another 1,849 estimated recoveries, bringing the total number of survivors to 134,199. There are currently an estimated 51,839 active cases in the county, the most of any North Texas county.
COVID-19 Latest
TCPH now reports 1,825 deaths attributed to the virus since March 2020.
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.
