After two days with no new deaths, the Tarrant County Public Health Department reported five new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday along with 857 new cases of the infection, a single-day high.
The addition of the latest 857 cases brings the total number of infections in Tarrant County to 19,871 since testing began in March. The county's 7-day average through Tuesday is 527 cases per day, up from 161 per day a month ago.
The county added five new deaths on Wednesday, including a woman in her 80s from Mansfield, a woman in her 70s from Watauga, two women in their 70s from Fort Worth, and a man in his 40s from Arlington. All had underlying health conditions.
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The jump in cases comes as the state's positivity rate, the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, has been sustained well over 10% since June 23 and swelled to a record high of 16.89% on Monday. An increase in the positivity rate indicates an increase in the spread of the virus, not an increase in testing for the virus.
The county is also reporting 488 recoveries Wednesday, bringing the total number of survivors to 9,619. There are currently an estimated 9,975 active cases in the county.
Of the county's cases, 68% 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 40%.
As of Wednesday, the county reported: 1,727 available hospital beds, 114 more than Monday and Tuesday; 384 available ventilators, five more than Tuesday; of the 9,975 active cases, 680 of those people are hospitalized, 35 more than on Tuesday and 54 more than Monday.
