Tarrant County Public Health is reporting 232 new COVID-19 cases Friday along with the deaths of two more people infected with the virus. Overnight, the net total of COVID-19 related hospitalizations dropped by nearly two dozen patients.
The latest victims include a man in his 50s from Fort Worth and a man in his 80s from Mansfield.
Both had underlying health conditions.
The addition of the latest 232 cases brings the total number of cases since March to 8,331. Through Thursday, the county had been averaging 191 new cases per day this week, which is about 13% higher than last week's average of 169 cases per day. With Friday's cases added, the average rose to 199 per day, an increase of 18% over the previous week.
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The two deaths bring the county's total to 207 fatalities associated with the virus. The county is also reporting 64 new recoveries for a total of 3,691 survivors.
Of the county's cases, 67% of those who have died were over the age of 65. Those aged 25 to 44 make up the largest percentage of people with COVID-19 at 38%.
As of Friday, the county reported: 1,861 available hospital beds, 16 fewer than Thursday and 298 fewer than on Tuesday; 438 available ventilators, 12 fewer than on Wednesday and 29 more than on Tuesday; of the 4,433 active cases, 263 of those people are hospitalized, 20 fewer than on Thursday and 43 more than on Tuesday.
Last week county health director Vinny Taneja said Tarrant County is well under the hospital bed capacity limit that Gov. Greg Abbott has recommended across the state. Abbott, in a news conference Tuesday afternoon, said the state is currently able to meet the needs of all patients statewide and that Texas hospitals stand ready should they need to expand to surge capacity.
